It Was You
by MsKRyan.ox
Summary: [Side Story to Broken & Healed] When Beth Roberts is placed in an old storyline with a modern twist along side her friends The Shield, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, her life turns upside down. How does she deal with it all? And more importantly what does Jonathan Good feel for the pint-sized, auburn haired, Canadian Diva with some very familiar ties to the business?
1. Auburn Hair

I: Auburn Hair

* * *

_A limo slowly began to pull up to the back of the arena and right in front of Daniel Bryan who was awaiting for the arrival of CM Punk, whom at this point in time was an ally and good friend to the newly married man. It was twenty-four hours after the match at Extreme Rules 2014 where Punk had been decimated by Dean Ambrose. And Punk, Punk was pissed._

_Bryan waved at the limo to stop, as he checked to see whether it was in fact the man that he was waiting for. As soon as the passenger door opened and out stepped Punk, a weapon in hand, Bryan knew what Punk had in mind._

_"I thought you might do that," Bryan said, as he watched Punk close the door silently, "Just this one time, I'm asking you to use your head. Hey, this is not a joking matter, I understand what went down. Beth means a lot to me too. Punk, I'm not going to let this happen." Punk continued to ignore the man. He was blinded by rage and the only thing that would stop this hunger for revenge was by bashing in Ambrose's skull._

_"Would you please relax," Bryan begged, "Hey, would you please just chill out? You're busted up, I understand you're hurt. You can't do it this way, would you just calm your head down. I'm not gonna let it happen. The Authority is not going to let it happen. Calm down, give me that." Bryan reached for the weapon that Punk had brought with him to the arena, but Punk kept it out of his reach. _

_"Give me it," Bryan snapped, reaching for the weapon one more time, "Listen, just listen to me. Just listen to me. Would you chill out? What are you gonna do? You gonna go out there with Dean Ambrose, that's exactly what they want to happen." Bryan followed Punk as he made his way into the building and towards the locker rooms. He was going to hunt down Ambrose like the dog he was until everything was right again, until Beth was safe. _

_"Huh, you got all this," Bryan shouted, pointing to the weapon, "You gonna bash his head in, I don't think so. I don't think so." The pair continued to walk through the backstage area as Punk continued his hunt for the Hounds of Justice. He couldn't wait to free her from that insanity._

_"What are you gonna do," Bryan asked, as they got closer to the Shield's locker room, "What are you gonna do now? Huh, what are you gonna bang the door down. Huh, you wanna go in there and just…fine, go in there then. That's what you wanna do? Go for it. Is this gonna make you feel better? Is this what you wanna do?" Punk and Bryan came to the Shield's locker room and Punk tried to open the lock door._

_"Come on," Bryan started again, "I'm beggin' you to just listen to me. Just listen to me."_

_"Get out of the way," Punk warned, speaking for the first time since he had stepped out of the limo and Daniel Bryan begged him to not go through with this._

_"What are you doing?" Punk raised the sledgehammer that he had brought with him and started to bang on the locked door, finally breaking into the…empty locker room. He stepped through the door as Bryan continued to scream at him._

_"There's nobody in there," Bryan told him, "Come on now, listen to me. Relax! You gotta use your head." Punk exited the locker room and stalked past Bryan. If he wasn't going to be able to find Ambrose, he was going to bring him right to him. _

_"Would you use your head," Bryan screamed, as he followed behind him, "Remember what-where are you going, huh, where are you goin' now? Would you just stop and give me that?"_

_"I'm goin' to the ring," Punk growled, once more keeping the sledgehammer out of Bryan's reach. _

_"You're goin' to the ring," Bryan repeated, "What do you think you're doin'? Remember one thing, I'm stopping, I'm not gonna be there with you. You remember one thing, she's still Beth. I know how bad you're in pain, but she's still Beth."_

* * *

_He shouldn't have lost. His little protégée, the Diva from Toronto, the auburn haired, brown eyed Beth was sitting ringside begging him to get her out of this mess with Dean Ambrose and the rest of the Shield and he failed her. He lost when Ambrose hit him in the head with a sledgehammer introduced by the COO Triple H._

_Grabbing the microphone that was being held out to him, he turned towards the stage not caring about all the theatrics, he wanted his revenge, he wanted to free Beth and most importantly he wanted to knock Dean Ambrose out with a sledgehammer of his very own._

_"Alright, Ambrose," Punk called looking at the stage, "Come on out. Come on out, you coward. Come on out, you rapist. What have you done to her? What have you done to Beth? Damn it, you better come out or I'm coming back there-" Suddenly the Shield's music hit and the lights went out. Punk threw the mic to the ground and held the sledgehammer in both of his hands ready for Ambrose to make his entrance._

_But, instead of Ambrose…it was Beth. Punk looked at the stage confused, dropping the sledgehammer from one of his hands as Beth climbed into the ring and came face to face with the man that had once meant so much to her. _

_"What are you gunna do with that sledgehammer, Punk," Beth asked, "What are you gonna do with it? You wanna bash Dean's head in? Do you wanna bash my brains in?" Punk looked at Beth affronted that she thought that he would even lay a hand on her._

_"Do it," Beth ordered, causing Punk's eyes to widen, "Raise that hammer high above your head and bash in my brains." Punk looked at her lowered the sledgehammer, he tried to reason with his former protégée, but she wasn't having it._

_"That's the only way you're going to get to Dean," she told him, "Because like it or not, Punk, we're married." Beth held up the ring that lay on her finger and wiggled it in front of Punk's face._

_"You see, Punk," Beth started, "It's always been about what you like and what you want even at the expense of your own relationships. I did love Colt, but I wasn't ready to get married. That's what you wanted." Punk continued to watch Beth in confusion. He had no idea how the sweet girl that just wanted him to teach her had become the woman that now stood in front of him._

_"And you know what Punk," Beth asked, "I'm not the Second City's Saints' go to girl anymore. I'm doing things my way and it feels damn good. You know, I have to admit, I use to get butterflies when Dean would look at me. I didn't want to, I didn't really mean to, but just the way that he would stand up to those who thought they had power, he was so strong and powerful himself. And he out smarted you by making business personal and that's something you know all about, Punk isn't it, making business personal." Punk looked at her trying to make sense of everything that was coming out of her mouth._

_"Oh, you look confused, like you don't remember," Beth acknowledged, "I guess it's been a long time. It's been almost a year, since you had me abducted. You had me locked in a rat infested basement with no light. I thought no one was coming for me and you put me there. You put me there, and then you had someone riffle through all of my personal and private things in my bedroom at my parents' house. I didn't know what kind of person had been through all of my private things. You made them do it, you did." The crowd began to boo as Punk looked at Beth apologetically. It was true, he did do all of those things, but it was for her. It was all for her._

_"And then the icing on the cake," Beth said, looking at him miserably, "You had me strapped to a symbol and carried down to this ring to be sacrificed to the Wyatt Family in a wedding. You did it. I was sacrificed alright, at the expense of the man who claimed he wanted nothing more than to protect me simply, so you could screw the McMahon family." Punk looked up to the ceiling, silently begging her to stop. Silently begging for her to become sweet little Bethany Rose again. _

_"But, you know what Punk," Beth asked, "Like I said a couple weeks ago on SmackDown what goes around, comes around. You hurt me and what's the best way that I could hurt you back by marrying one of the men that you hate the most, my husband, Dean Ambrose, a member of the Shield." Beth turned to walk away, but turned back before she fully exited the ring. _

_"Oh, oh and by the way," Beth stated, "Punk just so you know, Dean really turns me on."With those final words, Beth turned her back on Punk and made her way up the ramp as once again the Shield's theme began to play throughout the arena and at the top of the stage stood Dean. Beth made her way towards her not so estranged husband a wide smile on her face._

_"Punk," Dean started, "The one mistake I made last night was leaving you in a puddle of your own blood, unconscious, so you couldn't see the deal get sealed. So, Punk, one more time just for you, let me put the sealer on it. I'm gonna seal it with a kiss." Punk watched in dismay as Dean pulled Beth to him and placed his lips on hers. The pair separated after a few long moments that to Punk felt like an eternity and turned to smirk in his direction._

* * *

"So," Phil started as soon as both he and Jon were through the curtains, "Are you gonna tell her?"

"Tell who what," Jonathan Good asked the Best in the World looking confused, as he watched Beth run off to the Divas locker room.

"Beth," Phil clarified, "Are you gonna tell Beth that maybe this storyline isn't so fake after all, are you gonna tell her that you really do like her and that you enjoy working with her?"

"She's dating someone," Jon said, not taking his eyes of the spot where the auburn haired Toronto Native had disappeared, "She's with that actor Stefan Smoak or whatever."

"Stephen. Stefan is a character in that show about the lovesick vampires that she watches for some unknown reason," Phil corrected, "And yeah, but that doesn't mean that you can't tell her. I'd prefer you to him actually…at least you wouldn't knock the fact that she and I have matching tattoos." Jon chuckled as he thought about said tattoo. Several months after they had first met, Beth and Phil went down to a local tattoo place had and gotten matching tattoos of the roman numeral for four (IV). It was a symbol of luck, love and family for Beth, the symbol making its way onto all of her ring gear, and while Phil didn't believe in luck, he believed in Beth and thought it would be the perfect symbol for their friendship.

"He's just jealous," Jon muttered to Phil as some of the Divas walked by them, "Not to mention you haven't exactly hidden your hatred of him."

"Well one of us has to let her know how we feel," Phil said, "Not to mention he puts her in all kinds of danger. Have you seen how that man drives?"

"You know," Jon started, "If I didn't know better I would think that you were her father rather than just her best friend."

"Hardy har har," Phil fake laughed, "I'm serious, have you seen the way that man drives even without her in the car? I know he's part of those car racing movies, but he doesn't need to drive like that all the time." Jon just shook his head as the two men made their way towards the locker room.

"I was in the car with the two of them when we were in LA for Summerslam and I swear to you, he was going eighty over the speed limit," Phil recounted, "Beth was holding onto her seat, her knuckles were white from how hard she was holding on." Jon looked at him.

"Then why does she get in the car with him?"

"Because she 'loves' him," Phil complained, "Ha, what does she know about love?"

"Who doesn't know love," said Colby Lopez, as the Best in the World and his fellow Shield stable member walked into the locker room.

"Beth," Jon explained, as he started getting ready for the match that they were going to have later on in the night.

"Oh," Colby answered, "He complaining about Smoak again?" Jon nodded as Phil continued to complain about his friend's boyfriend as two of the three Shield members looked on. Phil, Colby and the other shield member Joe Anoa'i were aware of Jon's feelings for Beth and all of them shared a hatred for the man that she was currently dating Stephen Smoak.

"And God," Phil continued to complain, "Have you noticed that if any of us are even near them, he can't help, but maul her in front of us. It looks like he's trying to swallow her entire face. I swear, I've vomited in my mouth a few times when they start."

"How do you think he'd feel if we told him Beth has said the same thing about him and April," Colby whispered to Jon causing the other man to almost burst into laughter. This however went unnoticed by Phil as he was still complaining about Smoak.

"And don't even get me started on that pathetic smirk that he does," Phil continued, "And no matter what we're doing when we are forced to sit through those torturous moments in which Beth makes us actually speak to the slime bag, that smirk finds its way onto his face. And don't even get me started-"

"Phil," Beth called from the other side of the door, causing Phil to shut up almost instantly.

"We're still clothed Beth, you can come in," he answered. Beth quickly opened the door and looked at the three men that were sitting in the locker room. She had her baby pink phone in her hands and a sheepish smile on her face.

"No," Phil said, almost instantly as if knowing what she was going to say, "No, no, no, no, no."

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Beth told him, rolling her eyes at him.

"Does it involve Stefan," Phil asked, purposely getting his name wrong.

"You know his name is Stephen and yes."

"Then the answer is still the same," Phil said, pulling his wrestling attire out of his travel bag, "Not that you even need my permission to do anything despite what Good and Lopez over here think, I am not your father and nor do I act like him."

"But, it's technically your bus even though you are currently letting me-" Phil's eyes widened at the same that Jon and Colby crushed the soda cans that they had previously been drinking from in their hands causing the soda to go everywhere.

"And he's in the parking lot right now and I can't go back to the hotel until after the main event and he took out the convertible tonight," Beth continued to explain. The guys couldn't believe what they were hearing and more importantly they couldn't believe that Beth thought that Phil would actually give her permission to…

"Well in that case," Phil started finally recovering from his shock, "My answer is…"

"Oh thank-"

"Hell no."

"Phil," Beth whined, "I just need to talk to him somewhere where a bunch of nosey paparazzo's and Divas won't overhear what's being said."

"Oh in that case," Phil said, looking as he was about to change his mind, "No. Beth, you know how I feel about strangers on the bus-"

"But, he's not a stranger," Beth argued, "He's-" Phil held up a hand and Beth instantly quieted. Jon and Colby watched in slight amusement. This was why they said that Phil acted more like her father rather than her best friend. They definitely had more of a father-daughter relationship than that of best friends.

"Beth," Phil started again, "Maybe stranger wasn't the correct word to use. I don't want Stephen Smoak anywhere near our bus and that's final." Beth looked at her best friend and nodded. What she had needed to tell Stephen wasn't important enough that it couldn't wait until after the show.

"Okay," she relented, "It's probably for the better anyway, the last thing Stephen needs is rumors starting from a set of scandalous photos that some creepy pap might get of me and him entering or leaving the bus." With those final words she left offering a small wave to the group of men just as Joe Anoa'i entered the locker room. Phil groaned as soon as she left the room.

"What's his problem," Joe asked his stable mates, as he watched Phil run his hands over his face in frustration, "No wait, let me guess. It starts with an 'S' and ends with a 'moak." His stable mates nodded, but the look on Jon's face told him something was bothering him as well.

"Smoak bothering you too," Joe asked, as he nudged Jon's shoulder with his fist.

"Was it just me or did anyone else notice…"


	2. Smoakey Bruises

Chapter II: Smoakey Bruises

* * *

"So, what did you want to tell me," asked the six foot blonde and blue eyed actor looking down at Beth with a smile that could light up the entirety of New York City.

"Don't worry about it," she told him, "It can wait until after the show."

"No," Smoak said, grabbing both of Beth's wrists in his hands, "It was obviously very important to you. Why don't we go find somewhere quiet that we can talk?" Beth looked around the backstage area that they were standing in hoping that no one saw them. Smoak's grip on her wrists was growing tighter and she was sure that by tomorrow morning she would have a familiar set of finger shaped bruises.

"No, it's a live televised show and it's barely ever quiet back here," she reasoned with her boyfriend, "Why don't we wait until we're back at the hotel and then we can talk? Plus, they're going to need me pretty soon when Jon has his match against Ron."

"Speaking of Jon," Smoak said, his grip tightening even more on Beth's wrists, "I thought we spoke about this when you first mentioned this godforsaken storyline. I wanted you to put an end to it. I don't like the way he looks at you and Beth, him and your other friend, Phil, they're trying to pull us apart."

"I told you," Beth winced in fear as his grip continued to tighten, "I don't have that kind of pull back here. I can't tell them that I don't want to do something. I need to pay my dues. If they want me to be part of a particular storyline, it's no questions asked-"

"You're lying to me," Smoak interrupted.

"No, no, no-"

"Ms. Roberts, you're needed for a segment," called one of the stage hands. Smoak quickly loosened his grip on the Canadian as Beth gained her composure upon hearing the stage hand.

"Okay," she called back, as Smoak leaned down to her five foot four frame.

"Good luck," he told her before leaning down to whisper something in her ear. At his words Beth's eyes widened in fear and Smoak took his leave, leaving her standing there rubbing her wrists. True to her earlier thoughts a familiar set of bruises began to appear on her wrists. It was a good thing she taped her hands and wrists, the tape would cover and hide them from prying, over protective eyes. Watching her boyfriend leave, Beth felt as if she could dissolve into tears, but Monday Night RAW was no place to even think about doing such a thing. So, instead of dissolving into tears, she knew what needed to be done.

* * *

"…that she only cared about what Smoak needed," Jon said, looking at the door that Beth had just exited from, "That the last thing Smoak needed were those pictures. Forget about how the press would fry her for being an up and coming wrestler and dating an A-List actor, no it's Smoak that doesn't need those pictures circulating in the press. She already gets enough shit online because they think Phil pulled strings to get her as far as she's come. You heard what they were chanting out there. They were calling her a slut. I know Beth and she ain't no ring rat."

The three other men looked at him and looked at the door that said up and coming wrestler had exited from and then back to Jon. He was right. She hadn't cared about what those pictures could do to her, but what they would mean for Smoak's rep.

"I told her dating Smoak wasn't a good idea," Phil muttered under his breath, "I told her that I thought he was up to no good, that I didn't think he was good enough for her. I told her that dating him was a terrible idea!" Phil's voice grew louder and louder as he spoke, gaining the attention of all three members of the Shield. Picking up one of his discarded t-shirt's, Phil threw it at the opposite wall before taking a seat on the bench behind him all of the energy drained from his body.

"Do you remember how confident she used to be," Phil asked, looking at the three stable members.

"Yeah," Colby remembered, "I think that's what had Jon so attracted to her in the first place. He was use to women of all ages falling at his feet, but his whole shtick never worked on Beth. She saw right through it, told him if he thought she was going to be one of those women that would just hop into bed with him after knowing each other a total of fifteen minutes tops, he had another thing coming."

"She also told me that Zack Ryder had a better chance with her than I did if I kept it up," Jon chuckled, "I haven't done any of that since."

"Yeah, well, you weren't about to let yourself lose Beth to Zack Ryder of all people," Joe told him, "To bad that you didn't change the view she had of you before Smoak came into the picture." Every single one of them began clenching their fists at the mention of Smoak.

"How much are you hoping that what Beth wanted to tell Smoak was that it was over between them," Phil asked looking at Jon. Both Colby and Joe looked at him as well. It was no secret to the other three men and Bryan Danielson that every night before Jon tried to fall asleep, Jon would secretly hope that when he woke up the next morning Beth would be in his arms or she would tell him at breakfast that she had broken up with Smoak for him.

"I'd give up a chance at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship," Jon confessed, causing all three jaws to drop. They had no idea that his feelings for Beth went that far. Sure, they knew he liked her, but statements like that, they usually meant a whole lot deeper than like, one might even suggest that by making that statement Jon loves Beth.

"She wouldn't want you to give up a chance like that," Phil told him, "Hell, the old Beth would've smacked you upside the head for even thinking about doing that."

"Oh, like she did when you left last year," Joe shot at the older wrestler, "When you suddenly walked out of the company, not a word to her or April or anyone else."

"We do not speak of that," Phil growled.

"Yeah," Colby agreed, "Because you got your ass handed to you by five foot four auburn haired Diva who was carrying a wooden spoon and she wasn't even the number one contender to the Diva's championship at that time."

"Hey," Phil complained, "How about you try fighting her off when she's got a wooden spoon and she keeps whacking you with it as hard as she can?"

"We're not stupid enough to let her come after us with a wooden spoon," Jon shot back. All four men descended into laughter. It was fun remembering the fun times that they had before Smoak entered the picture, but it was also sad because in a matter of only six months, he had managed to change all of that. Gone was the woman that was a sassy, confident ball of energy behind the scenes and in her place was the shy and quiet version. It was as if the Beth that they had once known was just a memory.

* * *

_Dean and Beth were walking around backstage, his arm around his shoulder and the other two Shield members were trailing behind them. As Beth made to turn a corner she ran right into the other man that the WWE Universe was waiting for her to have an encounter with, the other man that she had betrayed the previous night; Daniel Bryan. As soon as Daniel Bryan came on screen you could hear the 'yes' chants from the stadium audience fill the air._

_"Beth," Daniel greeted, a hint of hostility in his voice._

_"Danny Boy," she returned, but the usual smile that would grace his face when she addressed him with that name did not appear. Daniel, however, shook his head and continued to glower at the three men that she was standing with._

_"Do you know what you've done," Daniel asked, "Can't you see how broken he is? Do you know how hard a time he's having believing this? Sweet little Bethany Rose betraying us…we thought you didn't have a single malicious bone in your body. And of all the stupid things that I imagined that you would do, I never imagined this. Siding with the authority? Giving your loyalty to the same people who set you up last year? Beth, I can't believe that you are stupid-"_

_"Tread lightly goat, you're swimming in hostile waters," Dean snapped, taking the arm that he had wrapped around Beth off her shoulders and fisting his hand in Daniel's shirt pinning him against the wall. Beth brought her small hands up to Dean's arms and gently ran her long nailed fingers across his forearms. If one were to look close enough they would see the shiver that ran down his spine as she did that._

_"Calm down, babe," she whispered to him, a smirk appearing on both of their faces, "Danny boy doesn't know what he's talking about. After all, what would he know about loyalty? He helped Punk stage that whole Wyatt Family abduction, he gave Punk the number to the private investigator that had gone through all of my private things, he planted the idea of the sacrificial wedding in Bray Wyatt's head and worst of all he let Punk try and marry me off to his low class best friend, Colt Cabana, even though he knew I wasn't ready."_

_"We did it-"_

_"For me," Beth finished for her former friend, "How did any of that benefit me Daniel? How did sitting in a dark rat infested basement benefit me? How does someone breaking my privacy benefit me? How did almost getting sacrificed to those freaks in a wedding benefit me? How does marrying beneath me benefit me? Face it, Daniel, you and Punk are both the same, selfish people that you were a year ago when I practically had to beg you to train me. If anyone is to blame for how broken Punk is, it's the two of you because I was broken a long time ago and no one seemed to notice except Dean. He recognized that underneath that brave façade you and Punk forced upon me, there was a scared little girl that just wanted to be loved and he did that. He loves me and he loved me when the two men that were supposed to didn't bother." With those final words, Beth turned the corner bringing Dean with her as both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins corned Daniel against the wall._

_"You see Daniel, we know Dean doesn't like it when Beth gets hurt," Seth said, as the pair continued to back Daniel against the wall that Dean Ambrose once had him pinned against._

_"And we sure as hell don't like it either," Roman said, as he fisted Daniel's shirt in his large hands and dragged the smaller man up the wall. Daniel Bryan begun to struggle against the strength of Roman Reigns as Seth began to kick and punch the smaller man. Roman dropped Daniel and the former tag team champions continued their attack as Punk came running down the corridor trying to help his friend and ally, but after his match last night with Dean Ambrose, there wasn't much strength left in his body. Reigns and Rollins easily took control of the two smaller men leaving them in a collapsed heap in the corridor for anyone to happen upon._

_It was only after several long agonizing moments were the two found, but it wasn't by anyone that would help them. No, it was the woman that had betrayed them._

_"You see boys," Beth said, leaning down to look both Punk and Daniel in the eye, "The emotional pain that you inflicted on me, will be nothing like the physical pain that you're going to have to endure. You two used to mean the world to me, but it's obvious that you care more about yourselves than you do me…why should I even both caring about how this could end your careers? Why should I even care about your careers?"_

* * *

Jon chuckled as he watched Beth give her parting words to Phil and Bryan on screen. The look in her eyes said it all; she looked at Phil and Bryan as if she actually hated them for everything they had 'done' to her in the months previous. She looked as if everything they had done actually had affected her in some emotional way, that it had broken her psyche and made her this crazy person that kneeled down behind two of her closest friends.

"And cut," the director called, as soon as Beth grabbed a fist full of Phil's hair before shoving his head away from her and towards the floor. Phil and Bryan stood up and hugged Beth as she began to giggle slightly. Jon chuckled to himself again, at least she broke character off camera.

"Wow Beth," Bryan said, as he released her from the group hug, "If I didn't know better I would have thought that you actually hated us. That look in your eyes, whew, man, I would hate to be on the other side of that look in real life." Beth chuckled as Phil kept his arms around her in a hug.

"I guess I better go call my mom and thank her for all of those years of acting classes," Beth giggled, the sound sending joy through every bone in every single of her friends' bodies. It had been a long time since they had heard her genuinely giggle.

"Beth," called a voice, causing the group to turn around and see the blonde actor standing behind them. The smiles on Phil, Jon, Bryan, Colby and Joe's face went from sincere to fake in a nanosecond as Beth kept smiling at the thought of her loving boyfriend see her do what she loved.

"Stephen," she greeted, walking away from her spot next to Phil and wrapping her arms around his neck. Stephen grabbed her face in both of his hands and planted a very passionate kiss on her lips in front of them all. Phil looked at Stephen like he wanted to murder him.

"So," Stephen started pulling away from Beth, nuzzling his nose against hers as he did, "Are you finished for the evening?" Beth shook her head.

"I still have to go out to the ring for a match between Dean and Colt, so Colt can leave like he wants too," she explained, "And once that's done then maybe I can go back to the hotel. I don't know yet, Phil hasn't told me whether or not we're leaving tonight or tomorrow morning."

"I thought you wanted to talk," Stephen said, looking down at her holding her hands tightly in his.

"It can wait," she told him, "It's not really all that important, but Phil?" Phil looked between Beth and Stephen as he walked towards them, so Beth wouldn't have to shout so that he could hear her clearly.

"Yeah?"

"You never told me if we were leaving tomorrow or tonight," Beth reminded him and Phil looked at her for a moment slightly confused, not that Stephen saw it. He was too busy glowering at Jon from behind Beth's back. Phil could have sworn that he told her that they were going to leave tomorrow and he could have sworn that when she came to ask him to use the bus to talk to Stephen that she had every intention of telling him something. But, now the Beth that was standing in front of him was fiddling with the tape that was on her wrists almost ripping it and no. Phil looked down at her and saw a very dark bruise under the tape.

Beth practically begged him with her eyes not to do something stupid, just to get her away from his as fast as he could. Phil wanted nothing more than to push Beth out of his way, so he could really teach the psycho that was behind her a lesson, but he couldn't refuse those big brown eyes that were looking up at him. They were like his kryptonite.

"Uh, I kind of want to leave tonight," he told the pair, "The sooner we get to the next city, the longer we can rest up for the tapings tomorrow. The beating Jon gave me last night was brutal and I really just want to rest for a while before another beating like that."

"Aww, okay," Beth whined, looking up at Stephen, "I guess it'll just have to wait until after you get back from LA."

"No, no," Stephen said, "Why don't we go find somewhere to talk and you can tell me what you needed to tell me." Phil smacked Jon on the chest and when Jon looked at him, he shook his head. He was trying to send Jon a message without actually saying anything. It took a lot of courage for Beth to do what she did in front of Stephen and if he knew what she did, he could only imagine. Miraculously, Jon got the message.

"Uh, actually, Beth," Jon said, causing the pair to turn back around as they were about to walk away, "Colt wanted to go over some key points in the match again and since we have about twenty minutes before we need to get in position we should probably do it now."

"Uh, sure," Beth said, stepping away from Stephen, only for him to pull her back against him and plant another passionate kiss on her lips, causing Phil to clench his fists even tighter almost losing all control. Oh, he was going to get him.


	3. Flinch

III: Flinch

* * *

"How long, Beth," Phil asked her trying to keep calm. Beth looked at Phil, hugging a pillow to her chest. She could barely look him in the eye and was rubbing the bruises on her wrist. Phil looked at the girl that was sitting in front of him and frowned. How could he not see it? Here was Beth, someone who he cared about and he didn't even see what was happening to her. He didn't see what her creepy ass current boyfriend was doing to her.

"Beth," Phil said, taking a seat next to her and he went to grab her hands, but the brown eyed Canadian flinched away from him. Phil looked hurt at the motion, but he quickly forgave her because he really couldn't blame her.

"Beth," he started again, placing his hands in his lap, "I need you to talk to me. It took a lot of courage for you to do what you did, but I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Beth looked down at the ground fiddling with the corner of her pillow.

"It started about three months ago," Beth explained, "When the current storyline was starting to be seriously considered. I wanted to tell him because you know, I was going to be kissing another man, so I thought I would give him a heads up."

"How'd he take it? You never told me."

"Terribly. We argued," Beth continued, "He was pissed off because he didn't want someone crouching in on 'his' territory, though I told him it would strictly be professional and most of the fans know reality from script. I also told him, I didn't have much of a choice, it was either I do it or I continue being the girl that depends on CM Punk and Daniel Bryan-no offense-"

"None taken."

"We continued to argue and he pushed me into his kitchen counter," she explained, pulling her hair back and showed him the scar that she still had, "I smacked my head pretty hard on the edge and when he noticed that I was bleeding, he rushed me to the local hospital. He apologized and swore he would never do it again, he even stayed up all night with me, when the doctors had told him that I had a concussion. I can't believe I fell for that shtick."

"Beth-"

"No, let me finish," she told him, "As we got closer and closer to Extreme Rules, his temper continued to get out of control when we were alone. In front of people, he would put on a show, but behind the scenes he was trying to make me into this quiet, perfect little step ford wife. It scared me how quick he could turn from the guy I met to the monster that he had become. My only saving grace is that I didn`t move in with him. Between his career and our line of work, the conversation never came up."

"God, when I get my hands on him, I'm going to-"

"Do nothing," Beth interrupted, "You're not going to do anything. Bryan, Jon, Joe, Colby and you are going to nothing, but join me the next time I see him and I am going to break things off. I've got to do this myself. I need to get back what dignity he took from me, Phil. I promised myself after today, there was no being afraid of him. I need to do this." Phil looked at the fragile woman in front of him wanting nothing more than to give her the biggest hug that he could manage, but he doubted that she would even let him. She had flinched just from him trying to hold her hands in his, why would a hug be any different? Beth continued to hug the pillow to her chest, while tears continued streaming from her big brown eyes.

Phil watched her, trying his best to stay calm. He wanted nothing more than to get his hands on Stephen Smoak, but Beth was right. It wasn't his fight, it was hers, but he wished that he could do something. He wanted Beth to be her happy, go-lucky self again, but more importantly he needed to tell somebody what she had just told him.

Standing up, Phil walked past her, before turning back around and kissing Beth on top of the head, ignoring the painful flinch that had happened. It hurt him to know that because of what Smoak had done to her, she was even afraid of the slightest affection from him.

"I'm going to get April," Phil told her, "I'll be back in a little bit, but I don't want you to be alone." Beth nodded and began to wipe away the tear marks on her face. Phil offered her a smile, before walking out of the bus that was still sitting in the parking lot of the stadium. Shooting off a quick text to April, Phil went looking for the group of men that would feel exactly like he had when he found out just what was happening in Beth's personal life.

* * *

"So, you got to spend some time alone with Beth today," Colby said, as he took a sip from the soda that was in his hands, "How was it?"

"Okay," Jon confessed, "She seemed a little bit jumpy today. It was almost like she was afraid that something was going to come from around the corner and grab her."

"That's weird, man," Joe added, "I've never known Beth to be jumpy. Hyper active, yeah, there are days I've seen her where she can barely sit in her seat, but jumpy? That's not normal for her."

"Yeah," Jon agreed, "She wasn't like that when I spoke to earlier in the day. She was her normal self, but then after that segment that Stephen watched, and after Phil's weird behaviour, it was like-"

"Almost like she was afraid someone was going to come after her," added a voice from behind them. The Shield turned to see Phil and Bryan standing behind them. Bryan looked just as confused as they did, but there was something in Phil's eyes that almost reminded them of when he was a heel. Phil looked ready to kill someone and they could only guess who.

"Uh yeah," Jon agreed with the older wrestler, as he watched Phil and Bryan take a seat, "Do you know something?" Phil raked his fingers through his hair and looked down at the table, a little of his anger disappearing the longer he sat there.

"Phil," Bryan asked, looking at the man that was sitting beside him. Phil's hands clenched into fists as he thought about what to tell the group that sat in front of him. He knew that they needed to be told, especially after the way that Beth had acted with him, with him of all people. Taking a deep breath, Phil finally broke his silence.

"She's," he started, but paused once more rethinking his decision to start the way he had.

"He," he started again, "He's been hitting her."

"Who are you-"

"Where is he," Jon snapped, knowing exactly who Phil was talking about, "When I get my hands on him, he's going to wish that he never laid a hand on Beth." Phil looked at Jon and smiled.

"I knew there was a reason that I liked you," Phil said, looking at Jon as he continued to clench his fists, "But, Beth has asked me that I do nothing-"

"That's you," Jon argued, "She didn't say a damn word to me about not laying a hand on him."

"To you, she hasn't," Phil explained, "When she told me what he's been doing for the last three months, I was-am just as angry as you are right now, but she doesn't want us to do anything. She told me that this is her fight. That she needs to get back the dignity she once had."

"She's going to get herself killed with that attitude," Bryan said, looking down at his hands. He had a hard time believing it. She had always looked so happy despite the fact that they all hated Smoak, but maybe that's why they saw the signs of it before now. She was happy, nothing had told them otherwise. Phil looked at Bryan and nodded.

"If she didn't already mention having us there to back her up the next time she sees him, I would have told her that," Phil said, "But, she wants us there, she knows better than any of us what he's capable of and hopefully she's right that he won't try anything with all of us there." Jon looked down at the table that was in front of him lost in thought. He couldn't imagine why someone would even think about laying their hands on Beth. She was one of the sweetest women that he had ever had the pleasure in knowing. She was also as stubborn as a mule and as strong as an ox personality wise. Beth was the kind of person that you introduce to your friends and the people that you consider family, not the kind that you fuck in a bathroom stall at a club. Looking up from the table, Jon looked over at Phil and then around the rest of the hotel restaurant.

"Where is she," he asked.

"She's back on the bus with April," Phil explained, "I needed to tell you all what she told me and I just couldn't put her through telling you all." Jon stood up, pulling his wallet out of his back jean pocket and throwing down enough money to cover his share of the bill, but before he could turn to leave, Phil caught him by his arm.

"Jon," Phil said, shaking his head, "She's not up for any kind of male company right now." Jon looked at Phil.

"Do you honestly think that I would even tr-"

"Wait," Phil interrupted, "I don't mean that kind of male company, I mean any kind of male company. She flinched away from me, Jon. I was just talking to her and I went to grab her hands and she flinched away from me. She knows deep inside her that I would never lay a hand on her in anything, but a professional way and she flinched from me. And I know, that she knows that you wouldn't either, but she's in a fragile state right now." Phil turned to look at the rest of the group.

"If any of you go marching in there, you're likely to overwhelm her," Phil explained, "If she's flinching at the slightest touch from a man, what's going to happen when four really pissed off guys march onto the bus, just to see if she's okay. You all forget that I have to travel with her and my mood is going to become really horrendous if I have to spend that ride trying to coax her out of the bathroom, just so I can take brush my teeth." Jon looked at Phil helplessly. He understood where the older man was coming from. It wouldn't be good for Beth's already fragile mindset to be broken, but he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and hold her until she knew for sure that he would never ever mentally, emotionally or physically hurt her on purpose. He never wanted Beth to question that. He wanted her to feel safe when she was with him and anyone else in their group.

"What are we going to do," Jon asked, taking his seat again. Joe, Colby and Bryan looked between the two wondering the exact same thing. Beth meant a lot to them and it hurt them to know that at this point in time there wasn't much that they could do.

"We're going to take it slow," Phil explained, "We're going to..."

* * *

Beth slept most of the ride to New York City. Both Phil and April had told her to take the larger bed, but Beth insisted that she would sleep where she usually slept. Everything that had happened was emotionally draining and thankfully when she woke up, Beth felt hundred times better than she had.

"How you feeling," Phil asked from behind her causing Beth to jump.

"Okay," she whispered to him truthfully, "I just want it all to be over. I don't want to jump at every little-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Phil said, looking at her through his brown eyes, "I get it. I shouldn't have snuck up behind you like that. Maybe April and I need to start wearing bells." Beth looked at Phil unamused. She knew that he was taking everything very seriously and was trying to help her smile again, but she couldn't find the humor in this situation.

"Oh come on, that was funny," Phil said, trying to get the young Canadian to laugh.

"I highly doubt putting collars on you or April is going to help matters," she told him, turning away from him and back to the PVR that was backlogged with all of the missed episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Glee and Supernatural.

"I don't understand how you can watch some of this," Phil said, taking a seat next to her.

"And I don't understand why you think wearing bells would help," Beth shot back, "The only thing it would do is keep me up at night." Phil didn't even look embarrassed at what she was implying. Beth shook her head at the older wrestler, as she looked through the taped episodes trying to remember where she had left off.

"I still don't understand how you can watch some of this stuff," Phil said, watching her as she read an episode description for Glee.

"I don't understand how you can watch the Walking Dead in the middle of the night, but you don't hear me complaining," Beth said, deleting the episode, having already watched it, earlier in the week.

"Hey," Phil shouted, "Supernatural, I'll give you, but come on Beth, Vampire Diaries is just a bunch of whiny, couple of centuries old teenagers that run into some of the most ridiculous problems that I have ever heard of. Like seriously what kind of Vampire would breed with a Werewolf and more importantly what kind of Vampire even breeds."

"First of all, that's not how it happened," Beth shot back, "And for a guy who claims that he doesn't enjoy watching this kind of stuff, you seriously end up watching it a whole lot."

"Blame April."

"Blame me," April said, coming out of the bathroom, "What are you blaming me for?"

"For Phil's unrivalled knowledge of the Vampire Diaries even though he claims that he doesn't watch it," Beth explained, as she finally settled on the mid season finale for Supernatural. April chuckled and sat on Phil's lap as she joined the younger Diva in watching the missed episodes.

"Oh and don't even get me started on Glee," Phil said, causing both women to look at him in annoyance as they paused the episode, "Teenagers and young adults that just randomly burst into song at the weirdest of times. Seriously?"

"That's more of a guilty pleasure," Beth explained, "And why not? I watch musicals all the time when I'm sick and they do the exact same thing."

"Yes, but musicals have a premise," Phil argued.

"What musical do you know that has any kind of premise besides entertainment," April shot, looking at Phil completely confused as to where his argument was going.

"Grease."

"Yeah, okay, let me guess the premise is girl meets boy while on vacation and has the summer fling of a lifetime, but because of some weird unknown reason she is forced to stay and go to the same school where the boy goes and meets his alter ego and doesn't like him," Beth explained, "And throughout the entire musical the boy must earn back the girl's heart, even though she's coming around to the dark side and never really stopped loving him. Am I right?"

"Yes," Phil answered, "See premise."

"That is a load of bullshit and you know it," Beth argued, "That isn't premise, that's plot.' April giggled as she watched the two go back and forth on the merit of people breaking out in song in the middle of a scripted dialogue. As the two got more passionate and passionate, Phil raised his hands as he explained something and that's when everything went silent. Beth flinched backwards away from Phil, as both he and April watched her with wide eyes, gauging her reaction. After a few calming breaths, Beth seemed to go back to normal.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I didn't think and I just reacted and I-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Phil said, looking at the girl in front of him, "You have no reason to be apologizing. I should have been the one that was thinking. I shouldn't have raised my hand-"

"That's normal for you, Phil," Beth said, "You talk with your hands, so do I. I can't keep flinching every single time that you use your hands. It's not healthy."

"You're right," April agreed, "It's not healthy, but it's going to be something that you get over with time. No one ever said coming out of an abusive relationship was going to be easy." The pint-sized Diva hugged the Canadian as she tried to comfort her. On the couch, Beth's phone began to ring.

"Hello," she said, trying to keep her voice as normal as possible.

"_Is this Beth Roberts_?"

"Yes, this is she," Beth answered, "May I ask who's calling?"

"_I'm Officer Singer, of the Los Angeles Police Department_," the woman on the phone explained, "_I'm calling in regards to a Stephen Smoak_."

"Uh, yes," Beth said, looking slightly confused as she listened the office, wondering why they would be calling her about Stephen.

"_Miss, Mr. Smoak was in accident early this morning_," the officer explained, "_I'm sad to report that he didn't make it._"


	4. Familiar Voice

Chapter IV: Familiar Voice

* * *

Beth was silent as she hung up the phone. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't be true. Stephen couldn't be dead. When was getting out of an abusive relationship ever that easy? When was luck ever in her favour? Phil watched Beth curiously as she continued to stare at her phone. Neither he nor April were aware of who had been on the phone nor were they aware of what had been said, of what had caused this silent reaction from Beth.

"Beth," April said quietly, placing her small hand on the shoulder of the silent Diva. Beth shook her head and looked towards her friend the look of disbelief still in her eyes.

"Who was on the phone," April asked.

"Um, an officer from the LAPD," Beth said, finally breaking her silence, "There-there was an accident this morning..."

"Is everything okay," April pressed. It was quite obvious to the psycho Diva that there was something wrong, but she wasn't going to assume the worst until she was absolutely sure of the facts. Beth shook her head in response. Combing her hands through her auburn hair, she looked down at her phone.

"I have to call his mother," she muttered, "I have to let her know-"

"You have to let who's mother know?"

"He-he-he's dead," Beth continued, "I have to let his mother know. I don't know why they would call me. Why would they even call me? I-I-"

"Who's dead," Phil asked, placing both of his hands on the red headed Diva's shoulders, "Beth, talk to me, you're scaring me." Beth looked up at the tattooed superstar and looked at him with wide eyes.

"St-Stephen's dead," she stuttered, "He was in an accident this morning and he-he died. Phil?"

"Yeah..."

"I don't know what to do," Beth stated, "I don't know how to feel. Do I feel sad because he was my boyfriend? Someone that I cared about and at one point thought I could love. Or do I feel happy? He was abusive, he was controlling, he was...he was..." Beth fell to her knees sobbing before Phil could catch her. Phil and April looked at the younger Diva helplessly. It was obvious now that Beth knew how she felt, but neither of them felt that Smoak was worthy of this reaction.

"Beth," April said, "Come on, go lie down." April tried to pick the slightly confused Diva onto her feet, but the dead weight that Beth's body had become was too much for her.

"Beth," Phil said, leaning down towards her small frame, "Listen to April, go lie down. We'll make the necessary phone calls for you." Beth's sobs came to a stop and she shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"No, no," Beth answered, "I should call his mother at least. I should be the one to let her know that he...he..." She paused taking a deep breath. It was hard for her to say out loud, now that she was breaking through her slightly clouded mind.

"I need to do this," she started again, "I know what he did and I know that the universe works in weird ways, but no one deserves to die and no mother deserves to bury her child." Phil nodded, looking at the small Diva before sharing a look with April.

"What are you feeling," Phil asked, unsure of what the answer was. Beth looked at him and shrugged.

"I don't know," Beth stated, "I still don't know what to feel, but I do know that I need to place that call. What do you say? How do you tell someone that their son is dead?"

"I don't know," Phil answered, sharing another look with April, "Do you want us to help you?" Beth shook her head again.

"I have to do this by myself," Beth answered, "He would have done the same for me." Phil opened his mouth to tell her that Smoak would have more likely been the cause of her death rather than the one calling her parents to break the sad news to them, but April quickly placed a hand over his mouth, shaking her head at him.

The two walked towards the back of the bus, as Beth decided that it was better to get the dreaded call over with, rather than wait to make it later.

"You can't tell her that," April whispered to him, "You can't tell her that he would have caused her death rather than notify the ones that love her. She's already confused as to what she should feel. If you go and tell her that, it'll either confuse her more or make her depressed. She was already having a hard time talking to us about what happened between them. We need to be here for her, the rest of the group needs to be here for her. She doesn't needs us making it harder, she needs to be able to lean on us, Phil." Phil ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"April, she was so close to seeing who he really was," Phil whispered in response.

"No," April corrected, "She knew exactly what he was before any of us saw it, but she also saw the side of him that made her feel beautiful and wanted. That's the side that she is more than likely mourning."

"That lowlife doesn't deserve her mourning-"

"We don't know what she's feeling right now," April said, "We just need to be here when she figures it out." Phil looked at April miserably before nodding his head. It hurt him to even think what Beth was possibly going through, but if she needed him, he was going to be there.

* * *

Beth watched as April pushed Phil to the back of the bus. She wasn't sure what to do, she didn't even know what to say to Stephen's mother. Stephen was a horrendous man at times, but no one deserved to die and no mother deserved to bury her child. Beth shook her head and a ran a lazy hand through her auburn hair. There was only one woman she could even think about calling at a time like this. Dialing a familiar Connecticut number, Beth held the phone to her ear and waited for the former Diva's champ to pick up the phone.

"Oh Bethany," said the familiar voice of Rayleigh Mizanin, "I just heard. How are you?" Beth sighed, she forgot for a moment that Rayleigh and Mike didn't know about Stephen's true nature.

"I'm not sure, Ray," Beth admitted to the retired Diva, who had helped train her, "It just seems so surreal. I just want to crawl under a rock and forget about the world until I figure out just what I'm feeling."

"Honey," Rayleigh sighed, "You know you're always welcome here if you need to escape for a little bit. Mike and I just finished converting one of the guest rooms into a nursery for our new little one, but we have plenty of room if you want it."

The offer was tempting and Beth just adored their sweet little girl Sophia. Rayleigh was like the big sister she never had, but did she really want to impose on a pregnant Rayleigh and an over-protective Mike for as long as it took her to figure all of it out?

"Can I bring a friend?"

"Anybody, as long as you feel comfortable," Rayleigh told her, thinking that maybe she was talking about Phil or April. Beth bit her lip as she thought about the offer. She looked over to Phil and April who were still in deep conversation and then her thoughts wandered to the others. Bryan was busy with his new wife and it wasn't likely that Vince McMahon was going to let one of his biggest draws take time off. Jon was a great friend, but would he be able to take staying with Rayleigh and Mike?

"Can I get back to you," Beth asked, "I have to call Stephen's mother and we just started this whole storyline-"

"Say no more," Rayleigh said, "You just let me know and I'll have Mike stock the freezer full of cookie dough ice cream for you...he won't let me touch the stuff since I puked all over his shoes early in this pregnancy." Beth giggled as she thought about Rayleigh's uncontrollable morning sickness and the amount ruined shoes Mike must have had to deal with.

"I'll let you know," she promised before hanging up. Beth fiddled with her phone. The offer was extremely tempting, but could she ask a friend to join her? Could she ask someone to put their entire career on hold just so she could get some time away to figure everything out? She looked at the clock on her phone. She really needed to get that call to his mother out of the way before she continued contemplating Rayleigh's offer.

* * *

Beth, Phil and April walked into the arena later that afternoon and almost immediately everyone started running over to Beth to offer her their condolences. Beth thanked them all kindly, but she told them for the time being she didn't want to talk about it.

"I have to go talk to Stephanie," Beth said, "I'm thinking I might take a couple of weeks off." Phil looked at Beth a worried expression on his face, but he nodded anyway.

"Do you want me to come with," Phil offered, "They can be a little stingy when it comes to time off." Beth shook her head.

"No," she answered, "I have a good reason and if they decide to put me in the ring when I don't have my head on straight, well, that's an injury and a lawsuit waiting to happen." Phil nodded his head, as Beth walked off towards where you could usually find Triple H or Stephanie at a time like this.

As she walked through the arena, her thoughts consumed her. It was obvious to the many that passed her on her way to Stephanie's office, that she was acting extremely different. Most of the roster chalked it up to her losing her boyfriend, and the ones that were aware of what Stephen Smoak truly were nowhere in sight.

And it was due to the fact that she was consumed in her own thoughts that she walked right into someone. Beth fell backwards onto her behind and looked up at the hard body that she had walked into.

"Beth," Jon said, shocked as he leaned down to help her up.

"Jon," she breathed, causing an easily missed shiver to go down his spine, "Sorry, I've just been so distracted."

"Yeah, I heard," he told her, "It's all anyone can seem to talk about today. How are you?" Beth shook her head.

"Not really sure," she answered him truthfully, "I'm thinking about disappearing for a couple of days. I got a really tempting offer from a friend, but I've got to see if the 'Authority' is going to let me take a couple of days off-"

"Whoa, whoa," Jon said, "Take a breath. The last thing you need today is a hospital visit for lack of oxygen. And you shouldn't worry about them not giving you the time off, I'm sure they'll understand."

"That's what I told Phil," Beth said, as the pair continued to walk towards the main office, "But, Ray offered to let me bring a friend, so that I was comfortable."

"Rayleigh Copeland," Jon asked.

"Yeah," Beth answered, "She's pretty great like that, but her and Mike are getting ready for the new baby and I don't want to make it harder on them by adding the fact that they'll need to entertain me and little Sophie, while I'm there and I don't know if I can really ask someone to take a vacation-"

"I'll go," Jon offered, before clearing his throat slightly, "I'll go with you. It could be like some kind "honeymoon" for us on the show."

"You would do that," Beth asked, looking up at him. Jon swallowed shallowly as he looked down at her nodding.

"Thanks Jon, but-"

"But, nothing," Jon said, "And I could use the time to pick Mrs. Mizanin's brain on some of this stuff. Hell, maybe Copeland'll come for a visit and I could pick his brain."

"I'm sure, she'll let you pick her brain as long as you don't call her Mrs. Mizanin," Beth said, with a slight laugh, "It makes her feel like you're comparing her to her mother-in-law."

"They don't get along?"

"Not my story to tell," Beth said with a slight smile. Jon and Beth shared a smile as they made their way towards the Authority's office to propose their idea.

"Jon," Beth said, "Thanks for doing this. It really means a lot to me."

"No problem," Jon told her, before he continued mumbling under his breath, "I would do anything to just see you smile at me like that."

"What," Beth asked, thinking that she heard him mumble something under his breath, "Did you say something?"

"What? No..." Jon cursed inwardly, she had obviously heard what he said and now, he just had to play it cool until it was the right time for her to find out. Now was not that time.

Beth knocked on the office door and waited for the Authority to acknowledge it. There would have been a time that she would have knocked on the door and then walked right into the room, but after catching April and Phil mid-act one too many times she learned her lesson.

"Come in," called Stephanie.

"Hi Mrs. Levesque," Beth said, as she and Jon entered the make-shift office.

"Beth," Stephanie said, a sad smile on her face, "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Stephanie?"

"Sorry Stephanie," Beth said, the first name of her boss sounding slightly funny on her lips.

"Don't worry, dear," Stephanie said, "I was just coming to find you. I heard about Stephen and I wanted to make sure you were okay." Jon stood quietly behind Beth as she looked at her boss sheepishly.

"That's what I came to talk to you about actually," Beth said, "Everything happened so suddenly and I was wondering if I could and it's totally okay if I can't, but-"

"Beth," Stephanie said, placing her hands on the young Diva's shoulders, "If you need to take a couple of days off to clear your head, it's fine."

"Rayleigh already called you, didn't she," Beth said, looking up at her boss. Stephanie chuckled and nodded.

"She called Hunter actually," Stephanie clarified, "That man, she's got him wrapped around her pinkie finger when she's pregnant. It's even worse when she gets the girls on her side." Beth chuckled in amusement, yeah, that definitely sounded like Rayleigh.

"She also told Hunter that you might want to bring a friend with you," Stephanie said, acknowledging Jon's presence finally, "Is that why Mr. Good has joined us?"

"He offered actually," Beth said.

"Yeah, I was thinking that since Beth will be off for a couple of weeks, I guess I thought," Jon started, "I thought we could use it as a honeymoon period for the two of us. It would help with angle the Punk and Bryan go slightly unhinged, if she and I were disappear for a couple of weeks. They're already worried about Beth being married to me, what if we hadn't been heard from in a couple of days?"

"Well, then maybe I should give Joe and Colby the next couple of weeks off as well," Stephanie said, thinking about what the pair had just proposed to her. Both Beth and Jon shook their heads.

"No," Beth said, "Jon and I wouldn't bring them on a honeymoon when we know that they would be better here wreaking havoc for CM Punk and Daniel Bryan."

"And plus," Jon said, "We don't want to give the WWE Universe the idea that the Shield is passing Beth around like a some ring rat. They were already calling her a slut when she was in the ring with Punk the other day."

"I propose that Seth and Roman are the only two that 'know' where Jon and I are," Beth said, "That way when Punk and Bryan confront them about my whereabouts, it can start something and it can last until Jon and I return, so that way the fans don't get bored with the storyline and eventually forget it even exists."

"That would work," Stephanie said, smiling at the pair, "Okay, you two get out of here. I'll book you a couple of tickets and call Rayleigh, she's going to want to get Mike to set up a guest room or two for you. Can you also tell her to call me, I want to talk to her about bringing her into Mike's storyline with Wade Barrett?" Beth nodded as she and Jon offered Stephanie a wave goodbye before exiting her office.

"Well, that took a lot less convincing than I thought it would."

"I told you," Jon said with a smirk, "They're pretty understanding when it comes to things like this."

"I guess so," Beth agreed, "And I guess it helps to have the Hunter's goddaughter on your side."

"Does she always do that," Jon asked.

"Only when she knows that I'm actually going to do it," Beth explained, "Rayleigh likes to take care of the people that are in her life. I hate to break it you Jon, but by the time we leave, she'll be mothering you as much as she mothers everybody else in her life."

"I highly doubt that." Beth looked at him and smiled. Jon was glad to see her smiling more and more as they spoke. He hoped that by the time as many weeks as she needed in Connecticut came to an end, she would be the same girl that he had fallen for.


	5. The Mizanins

Chapter V: The Mizanins

* * *

"Tell me about Rayleigh," Jon said, as the pair waited for their plane to Connecticut to take off. Beth buckled her seat belt and then looked at the man sitting next to her.

"What do you want to know?"

"How did you two meet," he asked, "I know you said that you considered her a big sister, but you never told us how you two met."

"Well, as you know I trained in the same gym that Adam, Jason, Trish and Rayleigh did," Beth started

"She was in town with Mike and Adam visiting their mother for their grandmother's funeral. Ron had called her and Adam to come and scout some of the new talent. I was in the ring with one of the new girls and when Rayleigh came in with Adam, she dropped me on my head."

"That had to be a great first impression," Jon chuckled, "What did Rayleigh say?"

"Nothing," Beth continued, as she leaned back in her seat, "She was carrying her daughter, Sophie in her portable car seat and she just sort of watched as the doctors checked me over. Rayleigh waited until after the check up was over and she went over to the other girl and start talking to her and giving her tips."

"She ignored you," Jon asked shocked. Beth shook her head and looked out the window before looking back at Jon.

"She was angry, but she wasn't angry with me," Beth explained, "She thought the girl had been careless and told her just as much, but gave her some pointers anyways. Once she was done with her, she walked over to me and sat down beside me.

"Did she say anything?"

"No, it was a little unnerving," Beth continued, "I spoke first, asking her what she wanted with me, asked her if she thought I was just as careless as the other girl."

"What did she say?"

"That I had potential," Beth admitted, "I looked at her shocked. This woman was one of the most famous students that Ron had, a Diva's Champion and a Women's Champion, and she thought that I had potential. I was shocked."

"I bet."

"Yeah," Beth laughed, "Rayleigh could see the shock written on my face, but she continued telling me that she thought I had a lot of potential to make it this business. Told me that while she was a little removed from that part of the business, she said that she was going to talk to some of the people she knew and see if she could get me a developmental contract."

"Didn't Bret Hart say the same thing to her brother," Jon asked.

"He did," Beth said, "And that's part of the reason, why she did the exact same thing for me. She saw something in me and she didn't want it to go to waste."

"Well, I'm glad she did that," Jon said, "If she hadn't, We probably would have never met." Beth smiled at him, causing Jon to get lost in her eyes.

"You're such a great friend, Jon," Beth said, placing her hand on his. Jon frowned for a fraction of a second before replacing the hurt look on his face with a small smile. Beth continued to smile at him before turning to look out the window. Jon watched her sadly for a moment. Was that all she thought of him as, a friend? Was that all he was ever going to be to her?

* * *

Rayleigh waited at the baggage claim for Beth and the unknown guest that would be staying with her and Mike for the next few weeks. Sophie was resting in her carriage, happy for the moment, but Rayleigh knew that if the plane was delayed due to the dreadful weather outside, Sophie was going to get cranky and quickly.

Checking the flight status one more time on her phone, Rayleigh sat calmly and continued to wait. She guessed that Beth would be bringing either Phil or April, but with them being the current WWE power couple it was highly doubtful that it was either of them. She was curious as to who Beth would bringing with her.

Stephen had just been killed in an accident, so she highly doubted that Beth had anyone else like that in her life. Beth wasn't like some of the people on the roster, she didn't have a cheating bone in her body.

She had a weird feeling though, the same feeling that had crept through her when she had found out about John Cena and Kaitlyn, the former was now one of her closest friends and the godfather of Sophie (at Mike's request, which surprised her to no end).

"Mama," Sophie whimpered, signaling to Rayleigh the crankiness was about to start.

"Yes, baby?"

"Cookie?" Rayleigh smiled at her little girl and reached into the baby bag that she kept stocked with the very necessary animal crackers. Offering the little girl a couple, Rayleigh looked down at her phone as another flight alert came in.

_Landing._

They had finally arrived. Just a few more minutes and hopefully this feeling would go away, but deep down inside her, Rayleigh knew different. The first time this feeling had come up, her entire world had flipped on its axis and a series of events happened that led to this exact moment.

* * *

"So, where did she say she was going to meet," Jon asked, as he and Beth walked off the plane and into the airport. Beth looked down at her phone and combed through the conversation that she had, had with Rayleigh the previous night.

"Baggage claim," Beth said, "I hope she brought Sophie. I can't wait to see how big she's gotten."

"Mike showed you a picture last night when we had dinner with him," Jon said, as he pulled his carry on bag, back onto his shoulder. Beth smiled at him.

"I know, but I just want to give her a big hug," Beth admitted, "She gives some of the best hugs. She gets it from him actually."

"And when will Mizanin be joining us at his home," Jon asked, as the pair walked towards the baggage claim.

"Next week," Beth explained, "Rayleigh enters her sixth month of pregnancy next week and he doesn't want to be traveling again until after the baby is half a year old."

"They're seriously giving him that much time off," Jon asked.

"Yeah," Beth said, "But, I think it has something to do with his knee. Rayleigh told me, he's been complaining about it more and more, so she talked him into getting some x-rays and from the way that she sounded, it looks like there was a lot more to it than a couple of bruises." Jon nodded, as the pair made his way towards the baggage claim. Beth and him were silent as they made their way through the airport. It was a very comfortable silence, but it was a little unnerving for Jon. He was going to be in a stranger's home and while, Rayleigh and Mike weren't full strangers, they were more Beth's friends than his and for the next few weeks, she was going to be the only familiar company he was going to have.

He could just hear **Phil**, Colby and _Joe_.

"This is your chance."

"She just lost her boyfriend."

**"Her abusive boyfriend."**

"She still cared for him."

_"That doesn't mean you can't get closer to her. Get her to see you in a different light."_

"She's hurt right now, I'm not going to try anything."

"Try what," Beth asked, looking at Jon strangely. This was the second time in a matter of three days that she had overheard him talking to himself. Beth continued to look at Jon as he tried to find an explanation to get him out of this tight spot.

"What," he asked, looking down the shorter woman.

"You said you weren't going to try anything," Beth said, looking up at him with curious eyes. Jon's eyes slightly widened.

"Oh, sorry," he tried, "I was just somewhere else for a moment..." Beth looked up at him still curious, but nodded her head none the less. She knew there was something up with Jon, but for the moment she was going to let it slide. A public place, much less an airport, was not the place to have this kind of conversation.

"B-Beth," the pair heard a small voice call, causing both of them to turn in the direction of the voice. Beth looked around the space in front of them. It wasn't long before her eyes landed on the blonde toddler standing with her long haired brunette mother. Jon smiled as Beth bent down on her knee as the toddler went running towards them, her bright pink rain coat billowing behind her.

"Sophie," the auburn Diva said, as she wrapped her arms around the toddler, lifting her off the ground, "How's my favourite diva?"

"I good, how you Bethy," the small girl asked as threw her arms around the young woman. Beth smiled at the little girl, as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair.

"I'm good Sophie," Beth answered, "Can you say hi to my friend, Jon?" Sophie looked at the unknown man that was standing by one of her mom's close friends. Jon wasn't sure what it was about the way that Sophie was looking at him, but it made him very nervous. Someone had once told him that young children could almost sense a person's true self and if Sophie Mizanin didn't like him, it was almost guaranteed that her mother and father would think there was something amiss. Sophie reached towards him after a moment.

"Hug," the little girl said, looking directly at him, "You need hug." Both Beth and Rayleigh, who had come up in front of the pair as Sophie surveyed him chuckled. Jon smiled at the little girl as he lifted her out of Beth's arms and into his own. The blonde toddler wrapped her small arms around his neck and squeezed, giving him one of the tightest hugs that she could manage.

"She likes you," Rayleigh said, as she gave Beth a hug of her own, "It's not often she hugs a person she's just met. And she most definitely doesn't snuggle against them like that either." Jon looked down at the little girl that was in his arms and noticed that she had buried her fragile head in the crook of his neck. He smiled at her as the mother of said toddler pulled out of phone and snapped a picture.

"This outta make the fan girls go wild," she teased, putting her phone back into her jean pocket. Jon groaned, but smiled none the less, as the little girl squeezed him once more.

"I don't think the fan girls will be able to recover if you post that to your twitter Ray," Beth joined, "You might kill off a majority of the Shield's fanbase." Jon chuckled as the two went back and forth as the pair started to collect the suitcases that he and Beth had brought with them.

"I can carry them," Jon said, as the two started to pile them onto a luggage cart.

"No," Rayleigh answered, "It's okay, plus as long as you keep Sophie happy and occupied, she might just take her afternoon nap on the way back to the house. That would really help me a whole lot more." Jon nodded, and held the girl tightly to his chest as they made their way out into the parking lot.

"I don't like rain," Sophie mumbled in Jon's neck, as the rain continued to poor down on them as they made their way to the car.

"I don't either," Jon whispered to her, causing the little girl to giggle, as Jon's short beard tickled her cheek, "So, what do you say, you let your mommy put you in your car seat, while your friend Beth and I get everything packed up and we can get home and out of this rain a lot quicker." Sophie looked up at him and thought about what he was proposing to her. With a nod of her head, Jon smiled and handed her over to her mother.

"Beth and I can handle the suitcases," he told the pregnant mother, "The sooner everyone's ready to go, Sophie can get out of the rain." Rayleigh looked at the younger wrestler for a moment, a look of wonder on her face, but as soon as the look appeared, it disappeared.

* * *

The drive to the Mizanin family home passed quickly. Sophia had fallen asleep as soon as they hit the highway, the hum of the SUV's motor singing her to sleep.

"So," Beth started, "Have you and Mike talked about baby names?"

"We haven't even started," Rayleigh answered, looking in her rearview mirror just in time to see her daughter shove her thumb in her mouth, "Between Mike being on the road and his knee problems, we barely had the time to even pick out the furniture for the nursery. Yeah, our families have given us both some suggestions, but we've never actually spoke about it and to be honest, I don't really feel like naming my child after my brother. I'm hoping once Mike gets home next week, we can actually sit down and make our lists, like we did last time."

"Do you know the sex of the baby," Jon asked, as he looked out at the passing Connecticut scenery.

"Nope," Rayleigh answered, "We want to keep it a surprise like last time, but Mike is adamant the baby is going to be a boy."

"He is," Beth asked.

"Yeah, but he was adamant Soph was going to be a boy too," Rayleigh said, taking another look to the backseat, "We all know how that turned out." Jon and Beth chuckled quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping toddler.

"And if he's right?"

"If he's right, then I will gladly admit it," Rayleigh said, "Now, enough about me. How are things going for the both of you? Jon, you glad to have the Shield back together?"

"It's interesting," Jon admitted, "It's almost like we were never apart. Joe, Colby and I just have this chemistry, I don't know how to explain it, but it's like we picked up right where we left off."

"I get that," Rayleigh agreed, "Jason, Adam and I were like that too. No matter how long we were apart during our careers, we picked up where we had left off."

"How is your brother and Jason," Jon asked, "I know that Jason announced his retirement a couple of months ago, but we really haven't heard much since then."

"They're both a huge pain in my rear end," Rayleigh said, with a slight chuckle, "Between Baby Lyric and Baby Amber, they both have so many questions about children that I'm two questions away from telling them to figure it out on their own, or call their mothers." Jon and Beth chuckled again.

"I kind of wish that you got to do half the shit-" Rayleigh clicked her tongue as the swear word left Jon's mouth.

"Sorry," he apologized, "Guess I'll have to start using a better vocabulary."

"It's okay," Rayleigh said, "It takes some getting use to. Mike and I used to use some pretty bad language before Sophie was born and after our friends started betting on which swear word was going to be her first, we both put a stop to it."

"What was her first word," Beth asked, looking back at the sleeping toddler, wanting to take a picture with her cell phone.

"Daddy, thankfully," Rayleigh said, a large smile spreading across her face, "Mike was so proud. He picked her up and swung her in the air and then she spit up all over his brand new wrestling t-shirt. It was ruined." The three adults chuckled at the image that popped up in their head.

"Now," Rayleigh started, "I didn't want to bring this up, but how are you? And I want the truth, Beth, you've been keeping something from me." The smiles on both of Beth and Jon's faces disappeared almost immediately and silence filled the car as Rayleigh awaited an answer to her question.

"I don't know how I feel," Beth answered, not looking at the retired Diva, "Like I told you already, it just doesn't seem real. One moment he was alive and-and-and…" Beth paused for a moment, causing Rayleigh to take a quick look at her.

"And I was going to break up with him," Beth admitted, and luckily they had pulled up to a red light. Rayleigh looked at her friend a look of shock on her face, as she swallowed thickly.

"I knew it," Rayleigh whispered, "I knew that something wasn't right."

"You knew," Beth asked.

"When you gave me that bullshit story about the stitches you got the weekend before you babysat Sophie, I knew," Rayleigh told the younger girl, "But I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that my friend was in that kind of relationship. I should have known that he was no good the moment that Sophie wouldn't let him anywhere near her." Jon looked in-between the two Divas unsure of what to make of this turn in conversation.

"I should have told you," Beth confessed, "The moment that everything took a turn for the worst, I should have told you, but I-I-I…"

"It's okay," Rayleigh told her, turning onto her street, "It's hard enough to admit it to yourself, much less a friend. It's okay now, he can no longer hurt you and I have no sympathy for him, I have sympathy for those that loved him, just not him." Beth placed her hand over her mouth to quiet a sob, as Jon reached forward and gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. The three adults sat quietly in the car as Rayleigh pulled into the garage and cut the engine. Placing a small smile on her face, she turned to Jon and Beth.

"How about we leave the suitcases here and I can show you, your rooms?"


	6. Cena? Really?

Chapter VI: Cena? Really?

* * *

"Have you tried feeding her," Rayleigh asked into the phone as she waited for her guests to finish taking their relaxing showers, "Adam, sometimes it's just the most obvious answer, now, when was the last time that you fed Lyric? Okay, when was the last time Beth fed Lyric?" Rayleigh waited for the answer and then rolled her eyes at her brother's answer.

"She's hungry," she told him, "Just heat her up a bottle of formula or whatever you and Beth are giving the poor girl and feed her. You know for two people who used to look after me and can remember when I was a baby; you and Jay are pretty damn clueless when it comes to taking care of your own daughters." Rayleigh leaned against the counter and waited silently for her brother to make his daughter a bottle.

"Now, do you remember what mom showed you," Rayleigh asked, "No, you just can't feed it to her, it could burn her tongue and then you have an even bigger problem, just test the bottle like mom showed you." Rayleigh shook her head, as she listened to her brother grumble and moan about the stupid bottle being too hot to even do the test. If she wasn't so worried about her brother possibly damaging her niece's taste buds, she would have started a bet on which swear word would be Lyric's first word just like he had with her and Mike.

Jon walked into the kitchen to see Rayleigh leaning against the counter with a phone attached to her ear and an obvious look of annoyance on her face. He could only guess who she was on the phone with, but from what he heard of the conversation it was probably her brother.

"Adam, it won't take the long to cool," Rayleigh said, as she offered Jon a smile, "If you put the bottle into the freezer, you're just going to have to start this all over again. Just rock Lyric for a couple of minutes, the motion will soothe her and pass the time until the bottle is cool enough for her to drink. Now, I have a daughter of my own I need to take care of, can I go?" Hanging up the phone, Rayleigh looked at Jon and smiled again.

"You want something drink? Eat," she offered, "I was going to order a pizza in a little bit since the two of you must be hungry, but I can make you a sandwich or something if you really need something to eat." Jon shook his head.

"No, thanks," he told her, "I just wanted to talk to you about-"

"About Stephen," Rayleigh finished for him, "I thought you might."

"Yeah, I guess, I just want to know how you knew," Jon asked, "She had to tell Punk for him to figure it out and he had to tell the rest of us for us to figure it out."

"I knew someone like him before," Rayleigh explained.

"You were-"

"Oh, no, I guess what I should have said, was I knew a variation of him," Rayleigh clarified, "A cheater."

"Oh, may I ask-"

"You don't already know," Rayleigh asked, "I would have thought for sure that someone on the roster would have already told you."

"I know some of the details, but I-"

"You don't want to know the backstage garble, you want to know the truth about what happened," Rayleigh finished for him, "Well, it pretty much went like this. I was in love with someone before Mike. He was my entire world, and in the matter of twenty-fours my entire world went from sunshine and daisies to…something just north of a living nightmare. Cheated on me with another Diva, I found out a few months into it, and when I went to confront John about it…"

"Wait John," Jon asked, "As in John Cena…he was the guy that cheated on you? You two are like the best of friends."

"Yeah well, we were good friends when we started in the company and then we started dating and then there was a time that we didn't talk which was before Sophie, but after he cheated and I got with Mike and then some things happened and he proved himself to be a better friend than boyfriend."

"So, you could see right through Stephen's little public act," Jon asked, looking up at the ceiling as they heard footsteps, telling them that Beth was finally coming down.

"Yeah, it also helped that Soph would take two steps near him," Rayleigh explained, "When Beth would come to visit with the bastard in tow; she would cling to me or Mike. I think Beth liked to think that she could keep it a secret, but like I said, it's hard enough to admit you're in abusive relationship to yourself, never mind a friend. It took me months before I could come to terms with what John did and what it cost us."

"Can I ask you another question," Jon said, just as Beth walked into the kitchen. Rayleigh smiled at her, as Beth took the chair beside Jon.

"You just did," Rayleigh joked, "But, go ahead."

"Why are you and Cena friends," Jon asked, "I mean, it's just he cheated on you-"

"Things with John got a little confusing after we found out about the miscarriage," Rayleigh explained, "I didn't really want a lot to do with him, but in a way he and I will always be connected. When my brother found out about Sophie, he and I got into an argument that involved him bringing up said miscarriage, I walked out of mine and Mike's hotel room and went for a walk. Every insecurity-"

"You, Rayleigh 'Hot Ray-Leigh' Mizanin, insecure," Beth asked, with a bit of a chuckle, "I don't believe it."

"A lot of people may not have seen it, but I changed after the miscarriage, at one point I changed so drastically I even attempted suicide," Rayleigh admitted. Both Beth and Jon looked at her shocked, this was the first time they had ever heard about the suicide attempt.

"Yeah, Mike was a little pissed off with me about keeping that from him," Rayleigh continued, "Anyways, when I found out I was pregnant, I freaked, I didn't know if I was going to be a good mom, I didn't know if Mike was going to be like my sperm donor and disappear on me, so when Adam and I got into our argument, he forced me to face all of my insecurities head on and I couldn't take it."

"So, you walked out," Beth said, remembering what she had heard earlier.

"Yeah, I walked out and after I blew off a little steam, I literally walked right into Cena," she told him, "And I just started telling him everything, and with one sentence he made every insecurity just disappear."

"What did he say," Jon asked, genuinely curious as to how someone who had possibly started the insecurities just made them disappear.

"He told me, it wasn't going to be like last time," Rayleigh told them, "Now, to this day I still don't know if he was talking about Mike or the miscarriage, but that chat was one of the reasons why Mike and I invited him to our wedding and is probably one of the reasons why Mike insisted that he be Sophie's godfather."

* * *

Jon and Beth were sitting in the living room taking advantage of the Mizanin's amazing cable package and link to the WWE Network, an hour after Rayleigh decided that it had been a long day for her and she needed some rest.

"So, what do you think about everything that Rayleigh told us today," Jon asked, as they sat watching Wrestle Mania 16. Rayleigh had just run in with Rhyno to help her "brothers" out in the match by taking out Spike Dudley with a steel chair.

"I think I admire and look up to her even more," Beth admitted, "It takes a pretty strong woman to admit that to somebody, let alone a stranger. No offence."

"None taken," Jon responded, "Do you think if things had turned out differently and you actually got to break up with Stephen, would you and him become friends?" Beth shook her head almost immediately as she watched Lita and Rayleigh begin to fight one another.

"I'd be too afraid of him to ever become his friend again," Beth admitted, "I'd be terrified that any moment that he would snap and kill me or something. John and Rayleigh compared to Stephen and I are very different, but she knows what it's like."

"Does Mike-"

"God no," Beth said, "Trust me I would know, but Rayleigh knows that people aren't always who they seem to be. John showed her that. I think that's part of the reason why she made it almost impossible for me to say no to her offer to stay here for a few weeks. She knows how drastically a person can change. I still can't believe that she tried to commit suicide."

"Some people think it's the only way out of the pain or the situation," Jon said, "I'm just glad that she didn't, because otherwise we never would have met." Beth smiled at him before turning back to the TV to see Rayleigh and Rhyno push one of the ladders that Devon Dudley and Matt Hardy climbing up to try and grab the titles.

"Do you think if things had gotten any further you would have attempted it," Jon asked. He knew this had to be tough conversation for her, but after everything that Rayleigh had told the both of them today, he needed to know. He needed to know what kind of fate a freak car accident could have saved her from. Beth was silent for a moment, as Jon waited with baited breath.

"Maybe," Beth paused, "I don't know. Probably, if I didn't have any other way out, I don't know for sure Jon, things like that are always a little hard to predict. Things can go several different ways and while, I might see no other way out, a person like for example you can see a million different ones." Jon nodded as they turned back to see Rhyno helping Edge climb the ladder to grab the belts, as Rayleigh lay party conscious on the outside of the ring.

"I still can't believe Cena cheated on Rayleigh," Beth said, breaking the silence after the next match started, "Her and John always seem to be so in sync when I see them together. It's almost like they have one brain."

"I think that goes with working together for so long," Jon said, "Before she retired they always use to say-"

"Hot Ray-Leigh is the only Diva, Diva enough to manage John Cena," Beth finished for him, "No Diva has quite been able to measure up to her manager services since she retired. I don't think they actually had John look for a replacement during that whole shtick when she announced her retirement." Jon chuckled.

"I'm fairly sure he told them that he didn't want another manage," Jon answered. Beth smiled at him.

"Would you look for a replacement if I were to suddenly get injured," Beth asked, a hint of humor in her voice. Jon looked up the ceiling jokingly as he thought about his answer.

"Nope."

"Oh really," Beth asked, "Not even if Hot Ray-Leigh was rumored to be coming out of retirement and Cena was injured?"

"Nope," he answered again, "Because I know that as soon as Cena was back, Hot Ray-Leigh would drop me like that bachelor guy you hate drops names, I'd have no chance." Beth and Jon chuckled as they continued to watch Wrestle Mania 17.

"Okay, now that you've said that I have to say this," Beth said, "If it was a Wrestle Mania match between Hot Ray-Leigh and John Cena vs you and me, and the rest of the Shield was banned from ring side and if Colby or Joe got involved you and I would both be fired, who would win?" Jon looked at Beth shocked for a moment as he thought about it. He wasn't sure. John Cena was a hard competitor to face in the main event at Wrestle Mania and with Hot Ray-Leigh at his side, he was almost impossible to beat, but he was nothing to sneeze at. Since he first debuted, he had won both of the matches he had at Wrestle Mania. He shrugged in response.

"To hard to tell," Jon answered, "We're too evenly matched." Beth snorted.

"I appreciate the compliment, but you and I both know that Hot Ray-Leigh isn't above paying off both Colby and Joe to get involved." The two looked at one another for a long moment, before Beth started leaning into Jon slightly. The pair was so caught up in the moment that they were unaware that they were being watched from the staircase.

It was then just as Jon and Beth's lips almost met that a clap of thunder sounded, causing Mizfit, who had been sitting by the backdoor begin to bark. Jon and Beth leapt apart as they heard Rayleigh's footsteps run down the hallway and into Sophie's bedroom just as her cries began to fill the air.

"Well, I'm off to bed," Beth said quickly, "Goodnight."

"Night."

* * *

Jon walked into the kitchen early the next morning as the smell of freshly made coffee and pancakes filled the air. He was glad none of the others had known how great a host and cook Rayleigh Mizanin was otherwise he would have had a whole lot more competition to go with Beth than he did.

"Looks like someone is up early," Rayleigh said, once she spotted him, "Coffee? I can't drink it, but I made a pot just for you and Beth."

"Thanks," Jon said, as he rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes, "Is there anything you want me to do?" Rayleigh flipped the pancake in the pan and then turned back to look at him.

"Would you mind setting up the table," Rayleigh asked, "The pancakes are almost done and as soon as Beth gets her little butt down here, we can enjoy some breakfast and then I'll leave the two of you alone, while I take Sophie to her Mommy and me class."

"There really is such a thing as a Mommy and me class," Jon asked, as he walked over to the cupboard that Rayleigh had directed him to, "I thought those only existed in movies."

"Mike said the same thing," Rayleigh responded, pouring some more batter into the pan, "But, I thought it would be good for her, since I'm no longer on the road to have some normal friends and it gives me something to do until she goes off to school."

"You're not going to start crying right," Jon asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

"No," Rayleigh assured him, "I had enough crying fits on her first birthday that I should be good until she actually goes to school." The two of them laughed, as Rayleigh directed him over to the drawer that had all of her and Mike's everyday flatware.

"So, when does the little munchkin wake up," Jon asked. Rayleigh looked at the clock that hung on the wall.

"Just a little bit longer," Rayleigh said, "I let her sleep in today since we're going to be out when she usually takes her nap."

"Oh, so you're really leaving Beth and I to fend for ourselves," Jon asked, the humor in his voice. Rayleigh chuckled.

"I want to get a few things done before Mike gets home in a few days," Rayleigh said, "He tends to treat me a bit like a China doll when he's home and if I don't go out and get the things I need now, he'll pout at me until I let him go get it and that'll take at least three trips to get it right."

"He gets baby brain and he's the father," Beth joked as she walked into the kitchen, "Oh dear lord, you made pancakes…I never should have come here, Phil and Colby are going to have us work out twice as hard when we get back."

"If they make you work out anymore than necessary, you tell them to give me a call," Rayleigh said. Both Jon and Beth chuckled at the thought of sicking Rayleigh on both Colby and Phil. While the image was entertaining, they didn't think it would be necessary.

"Now, what do the two of you have planned for the day," Rayleigh asked, "I know you don't have a car, but you can borrow one of Mike's. All I ask is that you leave the camaro-"

"Your husband has a camaro," Jon asked, chocking slightly on his coffee.

"It was my wedding gift to him," Rayleigh said, "But, seriously just leave it in the garage, if it gets one scratch on it. Mike will see red." Both Jon and Beth agreed, no matter how much it killed Jon to do it, but since it was a wedding gift the desire to sit in it receded slightly. Beth told Rayleigh about some of the places she wanted to show Jon, and how she really wanted to go back to that bookstore that Rayleigh had showed her the last time she had visited.

"Well, if Jon doesn't mind watching Sophie tomorrow during her nap, you and I can go in the afternoon," Rayleigh offered, causing Beth to give Jon a pleading look that had him agreeing before he knew what he had even agreed too.

"Okay, well, I'm going to take a quick shower and then we can head out, okay Jon," Beth said, placing their dishes in the dishwasher. Jon and Rayleigh nodded, as Sophie was being placed in her highchair, a bowl of cheerios in front of her.

"Jon," Rayleigh started.

"Yeah?"

"When were you going to tell me that you have a crush on Beth?"


	7. Girl-Boy Advice

Chapter VII: Girl/Boy Advice

* * *

"Uh, uh..."

"Uh, uh," Rayleigh repeated, "It's really not that hard of a question. When were you going to tell me that you have a crush on my friend?"

"How did you know," Jon asked, answering her question with a question of his own. Rayleigh smiled, while cleaning up her daughter's hands of cheerio dust. Jon waited uneasily for her answer.

"I was coming down the stairs last night for a glass of water when I spotted a very...intimate moment in front of the TV that was unfortunately stopped by the storm last night," Rayleigh recalled. Jon looked at her speechless. It was quite obvious that Rayleigh Mizanin was one of the most perceptive people that he had ever met and he didn't know whether that made him scared or happy.

"Now, I'm going to pose my question again," Rayleigh started, "When were you going to tell me that you had a crush on Beth?"

"I don't know," Jon said, unsure how to answer the question any other way, "I didn't think that it was that obvious really."

"It's only obvious to the people who are in love," Rayleigh said, a small smile on her lips, as she thought about her husband, "Don't worry, I won't tell her." Jon looked at Rayleigh thankfully.

"You won't tell anybody either will you, Sophie," Rayleigh asked, looking at the young girl that was looking between the two adults in wonder.

"Nope," Sophie said, popping the p, "I can keep a secret just like when daddy asked me not to tell mommy about her surprise in the garage." Almost immediately Sophie's eyes widened and slapped her hands on her mouth as she looked up at her mother. Jon looked over to Rayleigh with wide eyes to see her shaking her head, a large smile on her face.

"Are you sure you, she can keep a secret," Jon asked, as Rayleigh picked her up, and settled the small child on her hip.

"As long as Beth doesn't ask her to keep a secret, we're good," Rayleigh told him, "Jon, I know things with Beth are a little weird and you're probably freaking out about this situation, but the time will come and she'll be ready for another relationship. Just be patient."

* * *

Jon watched Beth as the two of them walked through a nearby park. The storm from yesterday had left everything wet, but it had also left a sort of freshness to the air.

"So, are you enjoying your visit," Jon asked, as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. Beth looked up at him and nodded.

"For the day and a half that we've been here, I already feel relaxed," Beth said, "And Rayleigh she understands a lot of what I'm going through. I'm glad she offered to let us stay with her."

"Yeah, talking to her, she gets it," Jon agreed, "She's done it all, so I'm not surprised."

"I heard Mr. McMahon and the rest of the board of directors are thinking about putting her in the Hall of Fame this upcoming year," Beth said, a smile on her face, "I hope they do. With her brother, Trish Stratus and Lita already in the Hall of Fame, I'd really like to see her in it too." Jon shrugged. He agreed with her, it would be amazing to see Rayleigh in the Hall of Fame, but lately since they had arrived in Connecticut all they had done was talk about Rayleigh the person or Rayleigh's past and he wanted to talk about something else.

"How are you doing," Jon said, "I know you said you felt more relaxed, but-"

"But, you want to know what I'm really thinking," Beth finished for him. Jon nodded, as he smiled down at the Diva. Her and Rayleigh had been finishing his sentences a lot over the past couple of days, and while it would have annoyed him if anybody else had done it, he forgave the both of him because, hell, you can't really get angry with a pregnant woman, especially when she was letting you stay in her house and Beth, well, it was just plain adorable when she did it. Jon coughed abruptly.

'Grown men don't think things are adorable,' he thought to himself, before looking at the Diva, who had walked over to a little duck pond and started tearing up a piece of old bread, she had taken from the Mizanin household.

'Oh, but she isn't a thing,' his mind reasoned, 'She's like this cuddly-'

'Oh, why don't I just hand her my man card and be done with it,' he mentally cut across his thoughts, as he watched her tear up the bread and feed a few of the baby ducks that were swimming in the pond. Jon smiled to himself as he went to go take a seat next to her.

"I want to go back to a time when things were simpler," she told him, not looking up from the pond, "When the worst thing I needed to worry about was scabby knees and cooties." Jon sat quietly as he listened to Beth open up.

"Growing up makes you realize the world isn't just rainbows, puppies and kittens," Beth said, "And falling in love makes you realize that it's going to hurt a lot more than falling and breaking open your knee when someone just rips your heart out your chest." Jon watched her as she stood up and looked out at the little kids who were playing in the puddles as their parents looked on.

"And Jon, the worst part about this whole situation," Beth continued, "I'm so confused because through everything that, that bastard put me through, it doesn't even feel like my heart was ripped from chest...it feels like it wasn't even Stephen's to begin with."

"What do you mean," Jon asked, looking at Beth curiously. He knew Beth was feeling conflicted with everything that had happened in the days leading up to Stephen's horrific accident, but she had never explained it.

"It's like even though I said and I thought that I loved him or cared for him or whatever I felt for him, it's like I didn't actually have those feelings for him," Beth explained, as the pair started walking through the park once more, "It's like I had those feelings for someone else completely." Jon felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest and he could hear his blood pounding in his ears. Was this moment that Rayleigh told him to be patient for?

"Do you know who that person is," he asked, biting the inside of his cheek slightly, "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." Beth shrugged.

"That's thing I don't know who I have these feelings for," Beth answered, "It could still be the part of Stephen that I actually cared about or for all I know, it could be Phil." Jon's fists clenched and unclenched as Beth spoke. He didn't want to hear about the woman that he had come to care about as something more than a friend falling in love with someone else. For God's sake, he had mentally described her as cuddly. Does Jonathan Good/Jon Moxley/Dean Ambrose strike you as the kind of guy that would describe a woman as cuddly? Yeah, I thought not.

"And the thing is, I'm not boy crazy or man crazy or however you describe it," Beth continued, unaware of Jon's inner struggle, "And when I voiced this to Rayleigh a few weeks ago, she said that-"

Jon lost all trace of the conversation. That maddening woman, his host for the next couple of weeks knew that Beth was feeling this way, and she knew that he had a crush on her and…Jon inwardly smiled.

'Nicely played Mrs. Mizanin,' Jon thought to himself. The adjoining rooms, the joint guest bathroom, the leaving them alone for hours at a time and it wasn't even two days into their visit, yeah, Jon knew exactly what Rayleigh was doing and he had to applaud her. Not many people would be able to pull something like this off without knowing who their second guest would be.

"So, maybe things with Stephen weren't that confusing in the first place," Beth continued to speak, as Jon finally caught up in the conversation, "Yeah, I liked the man, he had been, but I definitely didn't like who he had become, and Rayleigh's advice makes so much sense now, that I actually think about it. If you really loved the first person, you never would have fallen for the second and…ugh." Beth silently sank onto a bench, as she ran her manicured nails through her hair.

"I just sort of wish that feelings were easier," she told him, "Normally I would be able to figure out what I'm feeling, but it's like I'm having this inner battle with myself and I don't even know what I'm fighting for."

"Maybe you just need to clear your mind," Jon offered, "Maybe while we're in Connecticut; you should go have a massage with Rayleigh or whatever you girls do when you want to relax. Mike will be home in a couple of days, and I can always occupy myself or help out with Sophie." Beth looked at the taller man sitting beside her. He was right. Maybe, she was so on edge was because she hadn't been able to clear her mind of everything that had been going on her life for the past few days.

"Thanks Jon," she said, hugging his waist, "I'm really glad that you're here." Jon smiled, as he returned the hug. It was just at that moment that an elderly couple walked by hand in hand. The elderly woman stopped, and tapped Beth on the shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, "It's just the two of you remind me, so much of my husband and I and I just wanted to tell you that you're really adorable together." The elderly couple walked away before either Jon or Beth could respond. Beth looked up at Jon, a blush creeping up her neck as she released him.

"So, what do you want to do now," Jon said, as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment as well.

* * *

"God Rayleigh," Beth groaned, "I have no fucking…sorry…I have no fudging clue what to do. It was so awkward after that elderly woman stopped us and I had no idea what to say to him."

"Beth," Rayleigh calmly said, as she stirred the spaghetti sauce that was on the stove, "It's not that big of a deal. I remember before Mike and I were dating, John actually came up to me and asked me if we were. It actually got the two of us off of our butts and actually confront what we were feeling."

"That's the thing, Ray, I have no clue what I'm feeling," Beth whined as she laid her head against the table. Jon was in the living room looking through the Mizanin's rather large movie collection, trying to find something family friendly to watch before Sophie went to bed, and then something slightly more mature for afterwards.

"You told me before the accident that you felt like you were falling in love with someone else, right," Rayleigh asked. Beth nodded, her face still buried in the placemat that she had offered to set up for the pregnant mother.

"So, the only reason you're confused right now is because no matter what that good for nothing low life did, you felt as if you owed it to him to break up with him," Rayleigh told the younger woman, "And since that low life died, you're now known as the grieving girlfriend in the presses and face it, Beth, you're not grieving. What you're feeling is not grief, it's more like confusion and Jon's right. Maybe, the reason why you can't figure out what you're battling yourself for is because your mind is muddled, and you need a quiet moment to just sit and just let your thoughts work themselves out." Rayleigh turned back to the stove, as Beth thought about what her friend had said. It was just then that Rayleigh had snapped her fingers and turned towards Beth once more.

"You know what you need," Rayleigh said.

"A psychiatrist," Beth groaned.

"No," Rayleigh said, "You need a massage and I have just the thing." Rayleigh left the spaghetti sauce for a moment to reach for something that sat on top of her and Mike's refrigerator. Rayleigh handed Beth the envelope. Beth looked at the brunette curiously before opening the envelope to see what was inside.

"A couple's massage," Beth asked, "How would a couple's massage help me?"

"It's completely relaxing," Rayleigh explained, "Mike and I use to go before I got pregnant and it would just be two hours of this masseuse working out all of the knots in your body. It was glorious."

"Just one problem," Beth said, "It's a couple's massage, this certificate is for two people."

"So?"

"So, if you haven't noticed, I'm single," Beth explained, "Or I just recently lost my boyfriend, however you would like to describe it."

"So?"

"So, I have no one to go with me," Beth tried, "Unless you want to go with me-"

"No," Rayleigh answered, "I don't feel comfortable having other people's hands on me when I feel like I'm as big as a house."

"You're not a big as a house," Beth corrected, "You look like you swallowed volleyball, it's cute." Rayleigh gave her friend an amused glare.

"You know, there's someone else you could take," Rayleigh said, "He's in the living room, currently looking through my husband's DVD/Blu-ray collection." Beth looked up at the brunette with wide eyes.

"You want me to take Jon to a couple's massage after what happened today," Beth asked, looking at the pregnant woman in front of her as if she had lost her mind, "It'd be so awkward."

"No, it wouldn't," Rayleigh argued, "It'd be the same thing if you and I were to go. It'd be two friends going to get a massage. Beth, you need the time to go through your thoughts and the massage will probably do him some good as well. I remember what's like being on road. He could use the couple of hours to relax-"

"Honey, I'm home," a voice rang through the house, cutting Rayleigh off. The brunette's eyes widened at the sound of her husband's voice ringing through the house two days before he was actually supposed to arrive.

"Daddy," they heard Sophie shriek in happiness as her little feet pattered through the hall way. They heard her happy shriek once more, when Mike swept her into his arms and place kisses all over her chubby little cheeks. Rayleigh quickly turned off the stove and walked into the foyer, her eyes filling with happy tears as she saw her husband standing in front of her.

"What are you doing home this early," Rayleigh asked, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck as the pair hugged, "You told me, you wouldn't be home for two more days."

"I wanted to surprise you," he murmured into her neck, as he lifted his wife off her feet. Their little girl was squealing as she watched her parents greet one another.

"You infuriating man," she whispered, "You don't need to surprise me. Having you home for the next several months is good enough."

"Yeah, but I love you and I wanted to do something special for you," Mike said, as he turned towards their guests that had joined the small family in the front foyer, "Beth, it's good to see you again, I hope my wife hasn't been mothering you too much." Rayleigh slapped his chest, as he and Beth laughed.

"She's been driving me crazy," Beth joked in response, "I'm so glad you're here now, maybe she won't mother me as much."

"How about you, Jon, has she been mothering you too," Mike asked, as he turned to look at Jon, who Sophie had coaxed into holding her, while her parents were wrapped up in one another.

"It's fine," Jon joked, "It's good to have a home cooked meal every once in awhile."

"Smart man, smart man," Mike complimented, "Stay on my wife's good sides and she'll give you seconds, maybe even thirds." Rayleigh laughed, as she went to take Mike's suitcase from him. Mike swept it out of her hands and placed it by the basement stairs.

"Now, just what were you doing," Mike asked, as his wife pulled him into the kitchen, "You know you're not supposed to be lifting anything heavier than Sophie when you're pregnant." Beth and Jon listened to the couple, until their voices faded, leaving the two of them completely alone with Sophie.

"So, uh," Jon said, unsure of what to say, "So…"

"Um," Beth answered, "What movies have you picked out?"

* * *

"So, why'd you pull me into the kitchen," Mike asked, as he watched his wife continue to make dinner.

"A woman can't spend time with her husband that just got home from a two month trip on the road," Rayleigh said, looking at her husband with a pout on her face.

"Put that lip away or I'm going to bite it," Mike joked, "Now, do you want to tell me the real reason, why you pulled me in here?"

"I want those two alone together," Rayleigh explained, "He likes her and she likes him, even if she doesn't know it and-"

"Ray, I thought after you set up John and Nikki, you were done with the match making," Mike said, leaning against their kitchen counter.

"I'll be done after them," Rayleigh answered.

"Ray," Mike sighed, "She just got out of relationship…"

"You and I both know she didn't really love him," Rayleigh argued, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "He was a no good, abusive little-"

"I know, I know," Mike said, placing his hands on his wife's shoulders, "So, is it working?"

* * *

**A/N: Hi Everyone, **

**I just wanted to let you all know there's a new poll on my profile…do you want Hot Ray-Leigh to go into the WWE Hall of Fame, vote and let me know.**

**xo**


	8. Naked

Chapter VIII: Naked

* * *

"So," Beth started.

"Beth," Jon started at the exact same time. The pair looked at one another. Ever since that walk in the park earlier on in the day, they hadn't been able to have a full conversation like they did before the elderly lady had complimented them on how adorable they looked together. Mentally, Jon was cursing the old lady. This awkwardness between them was slowly going to end up killing him.

"Well, Rayleigh gave me this certificate," Beth started again after the pair had gone silent, "And well, it's a massage for two people and-"

"When are you going," Jon responded, "I'm sure I can find myself something to do. Maybe, Mike can show me what he does around here for-"

"Actually, Rayleigh isn't going to come with me," Beth explained, cutting off the slightly older wrestler, "She doesn't like other people's hands on her when she's pregnant, so she suggested that you come with me." Jon bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. Rayleigh wasn't going to give up and mentally he thanked her for being so stubborn.

"Uh, would you like me to join you," Jon asked.

"Well, it's a couple massage," Beth continued, "And well, it'd be pretty weird if I tried to use the certificate she gave me, only for to get a massage, so, uh, yeah…she said that you would probably enjoy it as well."

"You would, Jon," Mike said, as he walked into the living room. Jon mentally cursed the man, it was quite obvious to Jon right now that Mike Mizanin was not as perceptive as his wife, and was unable to tell when he had walked in at a very crucial moment.

"I go all the time with Rayleigh when she's not pregnant," Mike said, "It gives you the chance to sort of relax, but it isn't completely awkward, because you're not alone in a room with a stranger practically na-"

"Mike," Rayleigh called, "I know you just got home and you probably want to get off your feet, but can you come and put the sauce on the noodles, the pot is too heavy for me." Jon and Beth both unknowingly breathed a sigh of relief at Rayleigh's all knowing rescue. Mike silently left the living room after pressing a kiss to his daughter's forehead as she played with the stuffed rabbit that he had bought for her, while he had been out on the road.

"So, uh, do you want to come," Beth asked, holding the certificate up. Jon thought about it for a moment. It was obviously another ploy to get him and Beth alone together, which in his opinion was a good thing. But, after the awkwardness that had come between them when being compared to an elderly couple, did he really want to spend time alone with her in a room where two people would think, they were boyfriend and girlfriend? Would he be able to stand the awkwardness that would no doubt follow?

"Uh, yeah sure," Jon answered, "It could be fun, but there was something else that I wanted to talk to you about." Beth looked at him and nodded.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"After the old lady left, we just sort of-"

"Jon, Beth, dinner," Rayleigh called, bringing their conversation to a close before it could even start. Apparently Rayleigh was only perceptive when she was in the room. Jon and Beth looked at one another, before grabbing Sophie from her play pen and walking into the kitchen, where the makings of an amazing home cooked meal awaited them.

"So, Jon," Mike started, "I'm meeting up with Adam tomorrow, do you want to come with? You're welcome to join us." Jon looked at Mike, before looking over at Beth, who was making funny faces at Sophie while eating her spaghetti.

"Uh, sure, I'd really like to pick his brain about this feud I have going on with Punk and Bryan," Jon said, "It'd be really great getting a hall of famer's take on some of things that are happening in the WWE." Rayleigh smiled, as she watched her husband and Jon talk about work.

"Speaking of the hall of fame, did you hear who they're thinking about putting in the hall of fame," Mike said, looking towards his wife.

"Not really," she answered, cutting up some spaghetti for Sophie, "I know Stephanie was mentioning something about inducting the Macho Man or Miss Elizabeth, but I can't remember which."

"Degeneration-X might be going in," Mike said, "I was talking with Hunter during our flight and apparently Vince has been dropping hints about putting them in the hall of fame."

"That'll be interesting," Beth said, grabbing a slice of garlic bread, "The WWE wouldn't be able to refer to Flair as the only guy with two hall of fame rings anymore, Shawn would have a pair as well." Rayleigh nodded, as she watched her daughter stick her hands right into her bowl of spaghetti, before trying to shove her entire fist into her mouth.

"There's also talk about who's going to take on the Undertaker's streak at Wrestle Mania," Mike said, causing Rayleigh to look at him a slight look in her eye.

"You better not even be thinking about it," Rayleigh told him, causing Mike to just smirk at her, "And beside's I thought after 22, Mark was going to give it up. I mean, there's never going to be anybody like the Undertaker, ever, but he's already wrestling at most twice a year, maybe it's time."

"I'm not fighting him," Mike said, causing Rayleigh to sigh in relief, "Your best friend's name is being tossed around though." Rayleigh's fork clattered, as she looked at her husband, her jaw dropped and her eyes wide. Beth and Jon both looked at Rayleigh, as she continued to look at her husband. Even Sophie, who had been busy slurping what was left of the sauce in her bowl, was looking at her mother unaware of what was causing this reaction.

"He's…he's…John, he's," Rayleigh stuttered, as she tried to speak through her shock, trying to find the right words as to not swear in front of her very impressionable daughter, "John…he's…streak…gah." Rayleigh stood from the table and walked out of the kitchen. Both Jon and Beth looked at Mike.

"Is she going to be okay," Jon asked, looking at the door Rayleigh had gone through, "She sounded like she was in shock."

"She is," Mike answered, watching the door, "She's also probably cursing John right now. Cena and my wife made a pact before she retired; he was to not challenge the Undertaker at Wrestle Mania unless she could be at his side. Now, I know what you're thinking, Wrestle Mania is in April, she'll have given birth by then, but it'd be tight. She's due at the end of February, beginning of March, but she was late with Sophie and who knows what could happen with this one."

"Nothing's for sure though," Beth said, "You said his name was only being thrown around."

"Beth, in the WWE when John's name gets thrown around, it's almost a for sure thing," Mike explained, "Yeah, a lot can happen between now and April. Cena could get hurt, the Undertaker could back out, and I'm telling you right now, I don't hope anything bad happens to either man, but if John is seriously considering a streak match, he's going to have to deal with a very pissed off, pregnant wife of mine." Jon shuddered as he thought about what that could mean. Beth looked at the door, it was obvious that Rayleigh was heavily bothered by the fact that John would do something like this without even consulting her.

"Shouldn't you go talk to her," Jon said, as he watched Mike begin to wipe the spaghetti sauce from the very messy toddler that was sitting beside him.

"I'm going to give her a little bit longer," Mike said, "She needs some time to settle down and I have time to talk to you before the both of you find out when we watch Monday Night Raw."

"What's up," both Jon and Beth said at the exact same time. Both of them looked at one another and blushed as they looked away.

"Aww, that's just adorable," Mike said, "You're even talking at the same time. Anyways…"

* * *

"I don't know, Ray," Beth said, as the two of them perused the book store, "I know I already invited him to share the massage session with me, and I know you said, it'll be good for me to have that time to myself to just think about everything, but-"

"You're beginning to rethink things and you're wondering if getting this massage is a good idea at all," Rayleigh finished, as she looked at the back cover of a book she was thinking about buying.

"You know one of these days, you're going to have to teach me how you do that," Beth said, as she looked at some of the romance novels. It was like every title pulled at her heart and made her think about-Beth shook her head. Now, was not the time to have this inner battle, this was a time to relax and possibly find a good book.

"It comes with being a parent," Rayleigh said, "At least that's what my mom says, but anyways back to things with you and Jon."

"There is no thing with me and Jon," Beth argued, "We are just two friends-"

"Who are going to have a couple's massage together," Rayleigh joked, causing Beth to groan.

"You said, it'd be just like if you and I went," Beth said, picking up a book.

"It would," Rayleigh answered, "But, I'm just teasing. Seriously though, Beth you need to figure things out and what better way to do that than to clear your head. It's just a massage and neither of you have to be in the same room when you get the couple's massage. The only reason Mike and I are, is because we request it."

"You could have told me that when we talked about it last night," Beth said, looking at the older woman that was going through some of the baby books, "I was freaking out because Mike started going on about being…"

"Naked in front of one another," Rayleigh offered, "You know no offence Beth, but um, how are you going to have sex with him without being in the same room together?" Beth looked at Rayleigh in shock. She couldn't believe what had just come out of the pregnant mother's mouth, much less that she had just said in the middle of the pregnancy book aisle.

"We-we-we're n-not," Beth spluttered, unaware of how to answer, Rayleigh's question.

"I'm only joking," Rayleigh said, "You have to admit to him that you like him first." Beth looked at Rayleigh with wide eyes. Truthfully, she knew that Jon was one of the guys that could possibly be causing this battle within, but she wasn't sure, it could also be Colby, or Joe, or Phil or God forbid, Goat Man himself.

"How do you think Jon and Mike are fairing with Sophie," Beth asked, trying to change the subject at hand. Rayleigh looked at the auburn haired woman standing beside her.

"If I know my husband like I know I do, he's tempting my daughter with a Kit Kat bar."

* * *

Rayleigh and Beth were late. They were supposed to be home before Sophie had to get up from her nap, but Mike knew better. Rayleigh was going to use this time to try and talk to Beth about what she was possibly feeling towards Jon and now, Jon and him were stuck in the middle of a game of hide and seek with his daughter and they had been looking for her, for almost twenty minutes.

"How can a two year old hide so well," Jon asked, as he once again looked in Rayleigh's monster of a shoe closet, "And Rayleigh has enough shoes that it makes Natalya's collection look small."

"Who do you think got her half of those shoes and she can't wear most of them since her feet have started to swell," Mike grumbled as he scratched his head. There weren't many places for a toddler to hide on the upper level of the house. He had checked all the closets, under the beds and all of the bathroom cupboards had child proof locks on them. Jon looked behind every door and every curtain, but still his little angel was nowhere to be seen.

"Alright," Mike groaned, "It's time to pull out the big guns."

"Big guns?"

"Yeah," Mike said, before sighing, "Rayleigh, please forgive me for what's going to happen next." Jon looked confused, as Mike walked over to the master bedroom, a room both he and Mike had thoroughly searched for the toddler. Mike opened up the nightstand that had an alarm clock on it and pulled out…a chocolate bar?

"Sophie," Mike called, "Do you know what Jon and I have? It's chocolate, oh, look at this, it's a Kit Kat bar, it's your favourite." Jon watched Mike in silence, before they heard a quiet little giggle. Both Jon and Mike looked at one another; there was obviously a place they had missed in their search.

"Come on out, Soph," Jon tried, "If you want the Kit Kat you have to come out." Mike and Jon went silent as they awaited her decision, but once again yet another quiet giggle surfaced. Mike scratched his head. He was sure they had looked everywhere. Mentally, Mike ran through a check list of all the places a small toddler could get to and hide. A light bulb went off in his head.

Walking over to the nursery door, Mike opened it and walked over to the toy chest that had several of Sophie's old baby toys in it. Popping it open, he looked to see his little princess smiling up at him.

"Daddy," she giggled, reaching up to him. Mike chuckled as he leaned down and lifted the blonde toddler out of the toy chest and onto his hip.

"You were in the toy chest the whole time," Mike joked, "You know daddy isn't as good as mommy at hide and seek."

"Yeah, but Mommy, only let's me play hide and seek in basement," Sophie explained, causing both Mike and Jon to look at the little girl, who was making to grab at the Kit Kat bar that Mike had handed Jon. Mike nodded, as he watched his daughter. It made sense now, why Rayleigh was so good at finding their daughter during a game of hide and seek. There weren't many places for their daughter to hide. The laundry room had a childproof lock on it, so Sophie couldn't get in there when they weren't looking, and the only other places the little toddler could hide was the blanket chest and the closet.

"Mike, Jon, we're back," Beth called. Mike looked at his watch, as the pair of men made their way down the stairs. They had gotten home just in time for him and Jon to leave and meet Adam. He shook his head. It had obviously taken his wife a lot longer to get the information she needed out of Beth than she had anticipated.

"You better not have fed Sophie any sweets," Rayleigh said, "She's suppose to have a healthy snack in the afternoon."

"A little chocolate won't hurt her," Mike said, kissing his wife on the cheek, as he handed over their daughter.

"I know that, but she needs something healthy in her system," Rayleigh argued, "She doesn't need to be hopped up on sugar before dinner time." Mike chuckled and kissed both of his girls on the forehead, before rubbing his wife's expanding stomach.

"We're going to take off now," Mike explained, looking at both of the women in front of him, "I promised Adam that I wouldn't be late this time." Rayleigh looked at her husband and nodded.

"You might not be," Rayleigh said, "But I highly doubt my brother has the capacity to be on time for anything, but work." Jon looked between the husband and wife as they spoke. It was obvious that after years of being together, they were quite comfortable with each other and their love for each other showed even in the moments that they were separated. Jon looked towards Beth. He hoped that hopefully, maybe sometime, _soon_, in the near future that could the two of them.

"Jon," Mike called, bring Jon from his thoughts, "Come on, we need to go, so I can prove to my beautiful wife that her brother can be on time when he wants to be."

"Key words," Rayleigh responded, a hint of humor in her voice, "When he wants to be." Beth chuckled as she watched the married couple go back and forth jokingly. Jon chuckled as he slid on his shoes. He wondered if these moments were just because he and Beth were there or if they were like that all the time.

"Have fun," Beth said, giving Jon a hug for the first time since the awkward moment that had happened yesterday. Jon was shocked for a moment before he returned the hug, glad that maybe things with Beth wouldn't be so awkward anymore.

"I will," he answered, "Try to relax a little bit and maybe clear your mind. We can't have you going back to work, more confused than you were when we left." Jon smiled, and bent to kiss her forehead. When he realised what he had done, Jon quickly walked out the front door, Mike following behind him. Beth continued to watch the front door with wide eyes.

"Holy sh-," Beth cut herself off before she could finish her statement.

"What," Rayleigh asked, looking at the younger woman curiously, the thought of what had just transpired not lost on her.

"I think I've just figured everything out."

* * *

**A/N: Hi everyone,**

**Whoo! Two chapters in just over twenty-four hours! The poll for Hot Ray-Leigh's hall of fame induction is still up on my profile. I'm giving all of my readers until April 2****nd**** to have their opinion heard.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**xo**


	9. No Cry, Bethy

Chapter IX: No Cry, Bethy

* * *

"Figured it out," Rayleigh repeated, "You've figured it out, you're entire dilemma with just one kiss to the forehead?" Beth continued to watch the front door wide eyed. She was just as surprised as Rayleigh that all it took for her to figure out this inner battle with herself was one fucking kiss to the forehead. If she had known that, she would have tried that days ago.

"It's him," Beth answered, "And don't think I didn't figure out what you were doing either Mrs. Mizanin." Rayleigh glared at her friend. She knew how much she hated being referred to by that name. A slight shiver went down Rayleigh's spine at the thought of being compared to her mother-in-law. The woman was certifiably c-r-a-z-y crazy.

"The adjoining guest rooms, the joint bathroom," Beth listed, "You leave us alone with one another for hours on end, that certificate for a couple's massage and the poor guy offered to come with me to Connecticut to help me relax, not have some crazy friend of mine try and set the two of us up." Rayleigh bit her lip. She had promised Jon that she wouldn't spill his secret.

"God, Ray, I thought you promised Mike after you finished setting up Nikki Bella and John, you were going to give up on the match making," Beth said, "Yes, yes, I know, you set up John and Barbara and they're getting married this summer, you set up Beth and Adam and now, they have a baby, but Ray, you're match making isn't always a hundred percent fool proof."

"Natalya and Kevin, weren't going to last anyway," Rayleigh answered, waving her hand at the younger woman, "She was too hung up on TJ and I should have seen that. Doesn't matter now, Kevin has an amazing girl in Maryse and Natalya's back with her first love. Win-win for everybody." Beth groaned.

"That's beside the point Rayleigh," Beth argued, "You could have made this a whole lot worse."

"But, I didn't," Rayleigh smirked, "And now, you two are going to get together and go on to live your happy ever after with one another and have beautiful babies." Beth shook her head in amusement at her friend.

"Is that all you think of," Beth asked, "Babies?"

"When you have baby brain like I do," Rayleigh answered, "It's bound to come up more than once."

* * *

"You're quiet," Mike said, as the pair pulled in the parking lot of a bar not from where Rayleigh and Mike lived, "You've been quiet since we left. What's wrong?" Jon looked at Mike and shrugged.

"You know, it does you no good to keep things bottled up," Mike said, as the pair got out of the car, "It's always good to talk about things."

"Yeah, well, I think I just screwed things up between Beth and I and I'm fairly sure that she's never going to forgive me for what I did and I have effectively ruined my friendship with her," Jon said, as the pair entered the very empty bar, save a group of very familiar men.

"We leave you alone for two days and you've ruined things with Beth," said a familiar voice from behind Jon. Jon turned around to see the last person he'd expect to see in bar in the middle of the afternoon.

"Phil," Jon asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you see, a very scary pregnant woman-"

"Watch it, Brooks," Mike joked, "You may have been in the wedding party and she may be pregnant, but Rayleigh will have no qualms in ordering me to kick your ass."

"Anyways, the future mother of two called Hunter and Stephanie, talked them into giving all of us the next week off and then convinced all of us to fly to Connecticut to see Beth and your ugly mug ," Phil explained, "How she was able to do a thing like that I have no clue?"

"She can be very persuasive," April said, "I still have no clue, how she talked me into wrestling her in her last match WITH MY Diva's title on the line." The entire group chuckled as they thought about the weeks leading up to, said match. April had been more nervous than the night she had won the title, but the nerves didn't matter. Both women ended up stealing the show that night and they both walked out of it happy and Rayleigh was glad that the Diva's division would be left in strong hands once she left.

"Now, what's this nonsense about you ruining things with Beth," Bryan asked, placing his hand on Jon's shoulder. Jon sighed as he thought about what had happened not even fifteen minutes earlier.

"I kissed her," he confessed, causing the entire group to go silent.

"You kissed her," April asked, breaking the momentary silence, "You kissed her and now, you think that you've ruined everything with her. Do you have no faith in your abilities?"

"It's not like that," Jon argued, "She trusts me, and she's opened up to me these past couple of days and she's been feeling conflicted because of some…feelings she's been having and I probably just freaked her out even more and-and-and…" Jon slumped in his chair.

"And there's also a probability that you could have cleared her head," Mike offered, handing Jon a drink.

"Yeah, and what if this guy she likes isn't me," Jon wondered, "What if that kiss to the forehead-"

"You're worried that a kiss to the forehead has ruined your relationship with Beth," Joe asked, looking at his friend as if he had lost his mind, "You didn't even actually kiss her and you're freaking out about the possibility of you ruining your friendship with her-"

"You don't get it," Jon interrupted the Samoan.

"Then explain it better."

"I went to the park with her yesterday before Mike got home," Jon explained, "And we were talking and she was telling me how she wished she could go back to time when the worst she needed to worry about was scraped knees-"

"Amen to that," April muttered.

"And she was telling me that the confusion she has been feeling wasn't caused by Smoak's accident, but…" Jon trailed off. Beth had told him this in confidence and he highly doubted that she wanted him to spew this out to entire bar full of their closest friends and the men that could very well be crushing on.

"Jon," Mike said, "Continue." Jon sighed.

"Well, she told me, how she felt like she was falling in love with someone else before he died," Jon continued. The entire bar continued to look at him, as they waited for him to continue his explanation. By now, many of them knew that Smoak had been physically abusing Beth behind closed doors and the fact that she had possibly fallen in love with someone else during that time wasn't all that surprising.

"Anyway, she told me this, but the thing is there is a whole group of possibilities and she doesn't know which one it is," Jon said, "So, what if I kissed her forehead and there's was no spark for her, what if I send the woman I have fallen for is falling for someone who isn't me. I don't think I'd be able to deal with that."

"I don't think you'll have to," Phil said, looking at his friend, as sipped at his Pepsi.

"Easy for you to say," Jon said, sipping his beer, "You could be the one she's fucking falling in love with." Jon's eyes widened as he let the last part slip past his lips. The entire group went silent, while both Phil and April's eyes bugged out of their heads.

"What," Phil choked out.

"Hey, okay," Mike said, before Jon could speak again, "Jon, I'm telling you right now, you have nothing to worry about and we don't need to give anyone else a heart attack. Rayleigh wouldn't be doing everything she's been doing if she thought Beth was in love with Phil." The group looked at Phil, who was still in shock, as Jon looked at Mike helplessly.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know my wife and my wife knows Beth," Mike explained, "She wouldn't have brought you to stay in our house, if there wasn't something there on her part."

"Yeah, it's called friendship," Jon muttered to himself.

"If it was friendship, she wouldn't have spent an hour on the phone with my wife gushing about the fact that you offered to stay with her," Mike revealed, "Beth was going to ask April, Nikki or Brie to come with her, but suddenly you offered and the petite woman who I think of as a little sister couldn't say no." Jon looked at the future father of two and slumped. Mike was right.

"So, Mizanin, I thought Cena was supposed to join us tonight," Phil said, coming out of his shock slightly.

"He was," Mike answered, still watching Jon as he sat silently sipping his beer, "But, I thought since he decided to throw his hat in the ring for a streak match, he'll be the one to tell my wife that the Board of Directors is seriously considering it."

* * *

"I don't know how you did it Ray," Beth said, as she played with Sophie, "I don't know how you came back from everything with John."

"It wasn't easy," Ray admitted, as she sipped at her iced tea, "In fact it was kind of hard, but Mike was there every step of the way."

"So, you're saying that I should trust Jon and he'll help me get over everything with Stephen?"

"It's not going to be easy," Rayleigh said, smiling as her daughter giggled at the auburn haired woman, "You went through something, that no woman or man should ever have to go through. Cheating, as much as I hate to admit it, happens from time to time and as much as I hate to admit it, it takes someone cheating for a person to see the bad in that person and the good in someone else. What you went through, there's going to be mental and emotional scaring."

"Tell me about it," Beth commented, "I flinched away from Phil." Rayleigh looked at the younger woman sympathetically.

"What happened?"

"We were passionately discussing-"

"Arguing," Rayleigh joked.

"About the premise of musicals," Beth continued, "And well, Phil got a little too passionate and he raised his hand, before I could even think I was flinching away from him and-and-and…" Beth trailed off as tears came to her eyes. Rayleigh looked at the woman sadly, before making to stand up. However, a small blonde toddler beat her to making the young woman feel better. Sophie stood and wrapped her small arms around Beth's neck.

"No cry, Bethy," the toddler whispered in her ear, causing Beth to chuckle slightly.

"Why would I cry when I have my favourite little girl around," Beth said, wrapping her arms around the small toddler. Rayleigh smiled at the sight. From the day, Sophie had been born, Mike was vehement that she was going to be exactly like Rayleigh and it was moments like these that she could see that Sophie was going to be so much more. Rayleigh wiped a tear from her eye.

"Mommy, you no cry either," Sophie said, looking at up at her mother from the floor. Rayleigh leaned down and scooped the little girl into her lap, cuddling her baby girl into her chest.

"Promise Mommy that you won't grow up too fast," Rayleigh said, running her fingers through Sophie's wavy hair, "Promise to say my little girl for as long as possible."

"I promise, mommy," Sophie said burrowing her head into her mother's neck as the mother and daughter pair sat on the couch. Beth watched silently, as the two cuddled with one another, the sight bringing a slight tear to her eye.

"I want, what you have," Beth said, looking at Rayleigh, "I want a love that will consume me, protect me, give me a family like this."

"And you'll have it," Rayleigh said, rocking her little girl, "The world works in really strange ways, Beth, it'll-" Rayleigh was cut off by doorbell ringing. Beth and Rayleigh looked at one another, before looking at the front door. Placing Sophie on the couch beside her, Rayleigh held her hand out for Beth to help her up.

"Were you expecting anyone," Beth asked, as she helped the pregnant woman to her feet.

"Not until dinner," Rayleigh answered, causing Beth to look at the brunette curiously. Rayleigh walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole.

"What is he," Rayleigh whispered to herself, before opening the door to reveal John Cena standing there fiddling with his signature baseball cap and a bouquet of pink roses.

"When have you ever rung the doorbell," Rayleigh asked, "You know you're welcome to just open the door. You have a key."

"A guy can't be polite," John said, offering the pregnant mother, the roses, as he entered the house. Rayleigh looked at her male best friend suspiciously.

"You weren't supposed to be coming by until later tonight," Rayleigh said, as she held the roses under her nose.

"I know, I know, but Mike thought it would be better for me to tell you rather than for you to hear it from someone else," John explained, as he waved to Beth, who had come to stand in the front foyer. Rayleigh's eyes narrowed at the Cenation leader.

"Johnnie," Sophie shrieked running into the foyer at full speed towards the large man. A smile spread across John's face as he spotted the small toddler running towards him.

"Sophie girl," he greeted, lifting the small girl into his arms, "How's my favourite future Diva doing?"

"Goodie, did you bring me candy?"

"Sophie," Rayleigh reprimanded, "You know that's impolite."

"Sorry Mommy," Sophie said, looking down at her hands.

"It's okay, Ray," John said, digging into his jean pocket, "Cause guess what I have in my pocket, Sophie girl, a kit kat." Rayleigh jokingly threw her hands in the air, as Beth chuckled behind her.

"You're going to spoil her rotten, John Felix Anthony Cena," Rayleigh said, shaking her finger at the larger man.

"Uh oh John, she's using your full name," Beth joked, "You're in trouble." John laughed, as he placed the blonde toddler on the floor, as she ripped open her chocolate bar and promptly took a bite of it before her mother could tell her to save it for later. The three adults laughed as they watched walk back into the living room, chomping away on her favourite chocolate bar.

"Now, what is that you wanted to tell me," Rayleigh said, leading the other two adults back into the living room, "Are you finally going to put Nikki out of her misery and get down on one knee?"

"You know, Rayleigh Marie Mizanin, you are worse than my mother," John said, helping the pregnant woman to sit back down on the couch, "Why can't the two of you accept the fact that I don't want to get married?"

"Because we both have seen the way you look at her, John," Rayleigh argued, "Even Beth sees it, right?"

"Keep me out of this," Beth joked throwing her arms up into the air, "I have nothing to do with this conversation.

"Thank you-"

"Plus, I agree with Rayleigh," Beth said, causing John to groan at the thought of being double teamed by both of these women, "You really should propose to Nikki."

"Marriage isn't for everyone," John argued.

"I agree," Rayleigh said, "But you have a great girl on your hands and she's not asking you to jump off a cliff onto jagged rocks, she's asking you to just give her a commitment."

"Why don't you bother your brother about marriage," John said, looking at Rayleigh out of the corner of his eye, "He's not married either."

"Yeah, but he's stubborn and Beth just sees marriage as a piece of paper, this argument would be a lost cause on them," Rayleigh said, waving her hand.

"If you can accept the fact that your brother doesn't want to get married, why can't you accept the fact that I don't either?"

"Because I know you better than that and I don't believe that for a second," Rayleigh said, "Now, since you're obviously not getting married, what did you have to tell me?" John looked at Rayleigh sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Rayleigh's eyes narrowed at her best friend's nervous habit, while Beth picked the blonde toddler at her up and quickly left the room. If she knew Rayleigh as well as she hoped she did, it was going to turn ugly.

"John," Rayleigh warned, "You didn't…"

"You don't even know what I was going to say," John said, looking at Rayleigh.

"No, but I know you," Rayleigh said, "You rub your neck when you're nervous about something and the only reason you would be nervous telling me something is if you went back on our promise. John, please tell me that you didn't go back on it." John stayed silent, looking down at his feet.

"John," Rayleigh sighed, "Why?"

"No one else was willing to do it," John explained, "And well, Hunter came up to me and asked me if I was willing to take on the streak at Wrestle Mania and well, I-"

"You couldn't resist," Rayleigh finished, "You promised you wouldn't take on the streak unless I could stand ring side with you. Do you realise that this is going to be extremely tight?"

"I know, but-"

"No, you don't know John," Rayleigh snapped, "You promised me. Does that mean anything to you?"

"It does, Ray," John said, rubbing his neck again, "I guess I just thought, you're due at the beginning of March and Wrestle Mania isn't going to be until the fifth of April-"

"I might not heal in time, John," Rayleigh argued, "Why didn't you discuss this with me?"

* * *

**A/N: Just reminder to get in your votes, because at 8:00 tonight, my time, I will be closing the poll for Rayleigh's hall of fame induction tonight and depending on the answer, I might post another in its place.**

**xo**


	10. Quick Author's Note

**A/N: Hi Everyone, **

**So voting for Hot Ray-Leigh's Hall of Fame induction is now closed and she will be going into the Hall of Fame, but now I have another poll up on my profile and it involves choosing who you want to see induct her into the Hall of Fame.**

**The choices (in alphabetical order) are:**

**AJ Lee  
Bethany Roberts (Of 'It Was You')  
Beth Phoenix  
CM Punk  
Edge & Christian  
John Cena  
Kelly Kelly  
Lita  
Natalya  
Randy Orton  
Sheamus****  
Stephanie McMahon  
The Bella Twins  
The Miz  
Trish Stratus**

**Let me know either by voting in the poll or leaving a review...**

**xo**


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